Media & Technology
NewsOnScale Staff
October 22, 2026
Elon Musk has invested approximately $1 billion in Skydance — the media company that completed a $110 billion merger with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month — giving him a financial stake in the parent company of CNN, CBS, and HBO.
The investment was reported on October 22, 2026. It came alongside investments from other parties including Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Skydance, led by David Ellison — son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and described as a Trump ally — has been under financial pressure after taking on significant debt through the massive acquisition.
CNN, now part of the Skydance portfolio, has continued to publish coverage critical of both President Trump and Musk. Last month, Semafor reported concerns in Washington political circles that Musk investing in Skydance could create conflicts of interest given his ownership of X and his role in the Trump administration.
Those concerns are now a reality.
What Musk now owns a piece of
Through Skydance, Musk is now a partial financial stakeholder in CNN — the network that has covered his purchase of X, his government role, his political activities, and his business dealings with consistent scrutiny. He also holds a stake in CBS, one of the major broadcast networks covering the midterm elections. And HBO, one of the most influential premium content platforms in American media.
Musk already owns X, the platform that has become the primary infrastructure of American political communication. He is a key figure in the Trump administration. He owns SpaceX, which holds government contracts worth billions. He owns Tesla. He is considering a merger between SpaceX and Tesla.
A $1 billion investment in the parent company of CNN is not a passive financial decision. It is a consolidation of influence across the infrastructure of American media, technology, and government that has no precedent in modern history.
The free speech question
Musk acquired X in 2022 and declared it a free speech platform — the world's de facto public square where all voices would be heard equally.
CNN continues to cover Musk critically. Whether that coverage changes now that Musk holds a financial stake in CNN's parent company is a question every American who watches CNN should be asking.
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