To be honest, state capture pretty well describes what Musk and similar oligarchs have been doing up till now. It feels like an attempt to mince words and steer the conversation away from the topic of a coup.

Even by the definitions the author uses there is a very important aspect of illegality that’s different between the definitions. Citizens United was state capture, it was definitely eroding democracy and the rule of law, but it used tools which were legal.

What Musk is doing is blatantly illegal, so even from those definitions, a coup fits much better.

If Elsa is not an elected official and is taking over the government, doesn’t this mean that this is a coup and it should be labeled as such , a terrorist attack?

You can just hear in Musk’s head. “Good boy Donny. Be a good little president. Just do as you’re told. Good good boy”.