The founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and the owner of X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk is one of the most powerful men in the world. He’s used this power not only to endorse right-wing policies, but, as a new podcast from Tortoise claims, to surveil, intimidate, and suppress his enemies. Host Alexi Mostrous speaks with individuals who have experienced firsthand what it’s like to have a billionaire funnel vast resources into shattering their privacy. Among them is Vernon Unsworth, a British caver who—after Musk called him a “pedo” on Twitter—filed a defamation lawsuit in 2018, resulting in Musk paying a former MI5 agent $50,000 to dig up dirt on him. Another is Martin Tripp, a Tesla whistleblower who recalls how Musk employed private investigators to hack his phone and spy on his messages. As for Musk’s massive campaign to get Donald Trump re-elected, Elon’s Spies draws attention to the dangerous tactics of the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist.” —Paulina Prosnitz