#ElonMusk’s business #conflicts draw scrutiny amid WH role [apparently no one noticed till now 🙄]
Musk had sharp words for a the $500B partnership touted by the #Trump admin to hasten development of #ArtificialIntelligence #infrastructure. “They don’t actually have the money,” he said of #OpenAI & #SoftBank….
Left unsaid by the #technocrat, he has skin in the game: #xAI, is directly challenging OpenAI for the lead in the race to transform society w/the #technology.
🧵
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/24/elon-musk-conflicts-doge-trump-openai/
The debate reflects the inherent #conflict in the highly unusual arrangement of having the world’s foremost #business leader — & its richest person — actively working in the #WhiteHouse w/o having stepped aside from his business. Musk’s #wealth has surged since the election, in which he poured $277M into the election of #Trump & #Republican candidates, in part because #WallStreet expects his businesses to gain from the friendly policies of his new allies in Washington.
As head of the Dept of Govt Efficiency, #ElonMusk has been tasked by Trump w/recommending steep cuts to federal spending & #regulation. He has signaled the group could target agencies that have been a thorn in the side of HIS companies—including #Tesla, [which]…is key to his wealth. Initially envisioned as a body…outside of govt, #Trump on Monday instead established #DOGE as a project operating from within the White House, renaming the US Digital Service the US DOGE Service.
#ElonMusk has been discussed as potentially becoming a “special government employee” within the #WhiteHouse — a position that would exempt him from certain reporting & disclosure requirements of other senior ofcls.
“He starts w/enormous #ConflictsOfInterest, & they need to be absolutely addressed in terms of #transparency & #accountability,” said Rep #GerryConnolly (VA), the top #Democrat on the powerful #House #Oversight Cmte.
#USpol #technocracy #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy
“We’ve got a real issue here with, really, this emerging American #oligarch who has…no standing: The American people didn’t pick him. He didn’t run for office. Nor has he been nominated. I think that’s a huge stumbling block from the very beginning that could taint the entire process if the #Republicans aren’t careful,” Rep #GerryConnolly added.
#USpol #law #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
Those concerns were hardly allayed this week when #DOGE launched its official government website, complete with an image of the smiling Shiba Inu dog that is the group’s namesake, the mascot of a #cryptocurrency that has been backed by #ElonMusk & #Tesla.
Musk & Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. A DOGE official also did not respond.
#USpol #law #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
Also Mon, #Trump signed an #ExecutiveOrder rescinding President #Biden’s #ElectricVehicle *mandate* [not a mandate] pledging #EVs would make up 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030. Trump’s EO also moved to halt federal #funding for #EV chargers, & signaled the federal govt would end $7,500 #TaxCredits for consumers’ purchases of new EVs.
#ElonMusk favored rescinding Biden’s policies because he believes Biden’s policies helped the competition, which has significant ground to make up against #Tesla.
“Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla,” #ElonMusk posted in July 2024.
#Tesla also has the most sprawling & advanced charging network for #ElectricVehicles, one competitors have scrambled—in part w/the help of federal funding—to catch.
Now he sits in a prime position to #influence not only federal #policy on #EVs but also federal #investigations into Tesla, #SafetyRecalls & #regulatory hurdles to deploying the company’s biggest bet: Full #SelfDriving.
The increasing confidence in #ElonMusk’s ability to shape #policy has propelled a surge in #Tesla’s stock, adding >$100B to his #wealth. #WallStreet investors are confident the #Trump WH will usher in a “Golden Age” for Tesla….
“We estimate the #AI & autonomous opportunity is worth at least $1T alone for Tesla & we fully expect under a Trump WH these key initiatives will now get fast tracked as the federal #regulatory spiderweb that #Musk & Co have encountered over… #FSD/autonomous clears…”
#ElonMusk, whose other major company #SpaceX has amassed billions in #FederalContracts, also could command #oversight of federal contracting in his role with #DOGE, which has outlined a goal to cut $2T in spending.
“If you have not just 1, but 2 companies potentially that have government contracts, & part of your agenda is to review contracting, that’s a #ConflictOfInterest,” said Deniece Peterson, snr dir of federal market analysis at #Deltek, which has insight into federal contracting.
What if #ElonMusk’s interest in paring back #regulations included rules he thinks are slowing down the work of his tunneling firm #TheBoringCompany, she said. Would the agency be allowed to play a part in loosening those rules?
“There’s not the #transparency that would be required if it was structured differently,” she said.
#USpol #law #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
Beyond his immediate business interests, #ElonMusk is also facing a lawsuit from the #SEC over his late disclosure of his #Twitter stake, which…netted #Musk at least $150M by allowing him to purchase shares at a lower price than if his involvement had been publicly known.
Musk has elevated a call for “defanging” the SEC & the #FTC, which investigated some of Twitter’s actions after his takeover.
#USpol #law #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
#ElonMusk accused the #FTC in 2023 of “overreach” & said, “Weaponization of government agencies for censorship & political machinations needs to stop.”🥱
But for some, the most egregious conflict is #DOGE’s namesake itself.
Since #Trump’s election, #dogecoin’s value has doubled, even nearly tripling at one point—gains that have outpaced #bitcoin & the #Dow Jones Industrial Average, both of which also surged after Trump’s victory.
#USpol #law #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
When the #DOGE website launched with an image of the coin’s mascot, #crypto #influencers took it as a sign that the coin’s value would surge in coming weeks.
…#ElonMusk has acknowledged that he holds #dogecoin, saying he bought some for his son X in 2021, though specifics on Musk’s & #Tesla’s position are unknown.
#USpol #law #Trump #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy #technocracy
“There’s a massive #ConflictOfInterest in his inherent promotion of this #cybercurrency through every single mention of this side gig, this side hustle, he’s got going w/President #Trump,” said Nell Minow, a corporate governance expert…. “If it were a share of stock, we would have all kinds of #guardrails in place to make sure that it was very clear that what you were buying is not a piece of the US government.”
#WhiteHouse4Sale #compromised #USpol #law #broligarchy #plutocracy #kleptocracy
None of that is kleptocracy.
He's not forcing anyone to participate. If people want to throw away their money, it's their money to choose to throw away.
