Since Tucker Carlson's abrupt and stunning departure from Fox News, it seems that he has been busy laying the groundwork to launch a rival media outfit of his own.

The scoop comes from Axios and their headline is "Tucker Carlson ready to torch Fox News." Axios cites "sources close to" Tucker to report that he is mobilizing an effort to get himself released from his contract with Fox News so he can launch his own competitor — "a media empire of his own."

Apparently, Tucker's contract with Fox News goes through 2025 — after the presidential election — and he can't work for anyone else before then. So Fox is basically paying him $20M per year to not work.

Rumble and Newsmax have reportedly offered Tucker contracts more lucrative than his Fox gig, and he apparently also met with Elon about a venture. Axios' sources claims Tucker is also "contemplating building a direct-to-consumer media outlet where his millions of fans could pay to watch him."

Tucker "knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and is ready to start drawing a map," one of the sources said.

Another source Axios calls "a close Carlson friend" said:

"Now, we're going from peacetime to DEFCON 1. His team is preparing for war. He wants his freedom."

Stay tuned...