Donald Trump and his team have been quietly discussing plans to set up a commission to cut government waste. And guess who might be leading this charge? Elon Musk.
Yep! The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has also shown interest in getting involved, and Trump’s advisers seem pretty excited about it.
On several occasions, including on X, the social media platform he owns, Elon has expressed his desire to be part of a “government efficiency commission.” He has said that he wants to eliminate what he sees as wasteful regulations and spending.
In August, Elon posted an AI-generated image of himself standing behind a podium labeled “Department of Government Efficiency,” with the acronym DOGE, a nod to the meme coin he’s famously backed.
However, Elon’s involvement in this government audit has also caused some worries. Ethics experts are raising red flags about potential conflicts of interest. After all, Elon’s business empire spans across sectors that deal heavily with government contracts and regulations.
There’s a concern that Elon could use this opportunity to cut regulations that impact his companies while pushing for more favorable conditions. Trump’s team doesn’t seem too worried. Last week, the former president said:
“He wants to be involved, but look, he’s running big businesses and all that… so he can’t really be in the Cabinet. He can sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas.”
Elon has been using X to show support for Trump and take shots at Kamala Harris. Although, the man wasn’t always a Trump fan. Back in 2020, he seemed to lean more towards Joe Biden. But things have changed.
Now, Elon is all in on Trump. He’s even helped set up a SuperPAC, America PAC, which is throwing its weight behind Trump’s 2024 campaign. This PAC has already pulled in at least $8.7 million, according to the latest public filings.
The Biden administration hasn’t exactly been the kindest to Elon. His businesses have come under regulatory fire.
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been investigating Tesla’s marketing of its driver-assistance tech.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration even announced a recall affecting nearly every Tesla vehicle after finding that the company hadn’t done enough to make sure drivers were paying attention while using Autopilot.
Meanwhile, the SEC has opened up another investigation, this time into Twitter, the social media company that Elon bought in 2022. The National Labor Relations Board is also looking into harassment claims at SpaceX.
With all this heat, it’s no wonder a second Trump term looks pretty appealing to Elon, especially if it means rolling back some of these regulations.
