What does Elon Musk get out of remaking the government?

Summary

Consider This: What Does Elon Musk Get Out of Remaking the Government?

Released on February 4, 2025, "Consider This" by NPR delves into the intriguing and controversial involvement of Elon Musk in the U.S. federal government. Hosted by Mary Louise Kelly, this episode explores Musk's new role, the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), the political ramifications, and the potential implications for American governance.

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I. Introduction to Elon Musk’s Government Role

The episode opens with Mary Louise Kelly highlighting the pervasive nature of Elon Musk in recent news:

Mary Louise Kelly [00:00]: "It's been hard to turn on the news lately or scroll through your newsfeed and not come across something like this."

Musk's unprecedented involvement in government sparked immediate concerns and debates about the direction of federal operations.

II. The Emergence of Doge

Elon Musk, widely recognized for his leadership at Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), has recently taken on a significant governmental role. The Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was established by executive order on the first day of Donald Trump’s second term, with Musk at its helm.

Mary Louise Kelly [00:13]: "Musk run department, reportedly granting Elon Musk's Doge team access to the federal government's payment system..."

Musk's appointment aims to streamline government spending and increase efficiency, a move supported by President Trump.

III. Political Reactions and Concerns

The episode features strong reactions from political figures, reflecting the contentious nature of Musk's government involvement.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer [00:37]: "Before our very eyes. An unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."

Schumer criticizes Doge as an unelected body wielding excessive power without proper oversight. Similarly, Senator Mike Lee voices apprehension about the potential for corruption and lack of clarity regarding Doge's objectives:

Mike Lee [00:58]: "The immense danger is that we have no clarity, no explanation, no details for what Doge is truly after. The potential for corruption is too great."

IV. Republican Support and Defense

Contrasting the Democratic stance, Republican leaders like Senator Mike Lee and Senator Joni Ernst have expressed support for Musk’s initiatives.

Mike Lee [01:22]: "He's a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs."

Senator Joni Ernst [01:50]: "Praising one of Doge's most high-profile moves, freezing funding for USAID...”

Their backing underscores a political divide regarding the role of private entrepreneurs in public governance.

V. Elon Musk’s Motivations and Political Shift

To gain deeper insight into Musk’s motivations, Mary Louise Kelly interviews Zoe Schiffer, director of Business and Industry at Wired and author of Extremely Hardcore Inside Elon Musk's Twitter.

Zoe Schiffer [03:59]: "Elon Musk desperately wants to save the world, but only if he can be the one to save it."

Schiffer suggests that Musk's involvement in government stems from both altruistic desires to address global issues and practical concerns about his business interests. She notes Musk's political shift from a moderate Democrat to a staunch ally of Donald Trump, influenced by factors such as opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns and perceived underappreciation for his contributions to electric vehicles.

Zoe Schiffer [05:01]: "He has been going through a process that I think we can say a process of radicalization on the Internet, becoming more right-wing, more anti kind of woke."

VI. Unchecked Power and Accountability Issues

The podcast highlights the lack of traditional checks and balances in Musk’s new role. Despite his substantial influence, Musk remains unconfirmed by the Senate and operates primarily under presidential endorsement.

Zoe Schiffer [06:29]: "This is a man who has massive wealth and he also has a lot of political power... Now he is in the position of, in some ways regulating the regulators and his power looks pretty unchecked."

VII. Potential Implications for Government and Society

The episode raises critical questions about the long-term impact of Musk’s involvement in government. Schiffer warns of the potential for Musk to influence government contracts and reshape federal operations to benefit his interests.

Zoe Schiffer [07:29]: "Elon and his team are really running rampant."

She draws parallels to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, where initial public-facing goals were not fully realized, hinting at similar uncertainties within Doge.

Zoe Schiffer [08:17]: "We need to ask the question of what is Elon Musk's larger goal with the federal government of the United States?"

VIII. Future Outlook and Unanswered Questions

As Doge begins to make significant changes within the federal government, the episode underscores the need for vigilance and accountability. The lack of clarity regarding Doge’s objectives and Musk’s overarching goals poses a challenge for both governmental integrity and public trust.

IX. Conclusion

Mary Louise Kelly wraps up the episode by reiterating the unprecedented nature of Musk’s government role and the importance of scrutinizing his influence on federal operations.

Mary Louise Kelly [02:19]: "From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's considered this from NPR in Washington."

Consider This leaves listeners contemplating the balance between private sector expertise and public accountability, especially when one of the world's most influential entrepreneurs takes a central role in shaping government policy and operations.

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Notable Quotes:

• Chuck Schumer [00:37]: "Before our very eyes. An unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."
• Mike Lee [00:58]: "The immense danger is that we have no clarity, no explanation, no details for what Doge is truly after. The potential for corruption is too great."
• Elon Musk [01:36]: "It's going to be a huge relief to the American people once we get through the initial shock..."
• Zoe Schiffer [03:59]: "Elon Musk desperately wants to save the world, but only if he can be the one to save it."
• Zoe Schiffer [06:29]: "This is a man who has massive wealth and he also has a lot of political power... his power looks pretty unchecked."
• Zoe Schiffer [08:17]: "We need to ask the question of what is Elon Musk's larger goal with the federal government of the United States?"

Produced by Mia Venkat, edited by Courtney Dorning, and executive produced by Sammy Yenigun, this episode of “Consider This” offers a comprehensive examination of Elon Musk's unprecedented venture into federal government reform.

Transcript

[Mary Louise Kelly]

It's been hard to turn on the news lately or scroll through your newsfeed and not come across something like this.

[Elon Musk]

Elon Musk and the Doge team.

[Chuck Schumer]

Two top security officials at the agency attempted to block personnel from the Elon.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Musk run department, reportedly granting Elon Musk's Doge team access to the federal government's payment system, which handles Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur, owner of Tesla, so SpaceX X and now head of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as Doge, where he is making changes at a number of government departments.

[Mike Lee]

Before our very eyes. An unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

That is Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer. Speaking on the Senate floor on Monday, he, like many federal employees and others with stakes in the workings of the federal government have been decrying the work of Doge.

[Mike Lee]

The immense danger is that we have no clarity, no explanation, no details for what Doge is truly after. The potential for corruption is too great.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Doge was created by executive order on day one of Donald Trump's second term. The goal, government spending to make it more, well, efficient. And Musk has President Trump's support.

[Mike Lee]

He's a very talented guy from the.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Standpoint of management and costs. Musk has also got support from Republicans like Utah Senator Mike Lee, who joined Musk Monday morning for an online discussion on his social media platform X.

[Elon Musk]

It's going to be a huge relief to the American people once we get through the initial shock and once we get through this stage where the media is telling us the sky is going to fall. Dogs and cats living together in the streets. Apocalyptic stuff.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst also participated in the discussion. She praised one of Doge's most high, high profile moves, freezing funding for usaid, the US Agency for International Development.

[Chuck Schumer]

You know, we love to feel good about helping starving children and name your country, but it's not going there. It's going to, it's going to pay rents in Paris. It's going to support somebody's fancy dinner to entertain whoever.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Whether or not you buy that there's a need for an entity like Doge Democrats, one of the precedent it sets, its early efforts have sowed chaos and fear throughout the federal workforce. Consider this. The White House says that Musk is a, quote, special government employee tasked with cutting the size of the federal government. He was not elected and he seems to be accountable to no one but the president. From npr, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's considered this from NPR in Washington. These days, Elon Musk seems to be everywhere. In the 15 days that Donald Trump has been back in the White House, Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been moving to change every corner of the federal government. The billionaire entrepreneur and his team have gained access to a sensitive government payment system in the Treasury Department. They're pushing to drastically reduce the number of federal employees. So how did the world's richest man come to have such a big role in the federal government and why does he want it? To help us answer those questions and more, I am joined by Zoe Schiffer of Wired. She's the author of Extremely Hardcore Inside Elon Musk's Twitter. Zoe Schiffer, welcome.

[Zoe Schiffer]

Thank you for having me.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

To that basic question of why does Elon Musk want this? This is a man with plenty to keep him busy. He owns Tesla, he owns x, he owns SpaceX. What's the allure of adding the federal government to his portfolio?

[Zoe Schiffer]

You know, I always reflect on this quote from Sam Altman, who's the head of OpenAI and previously a friend of Elon Musk, now possibly an enemy. And he has said, Elon Musk desperately wants to save the world, but only if he can be the one to save it. And I think that that is really true. Elon Musk is very worried with global humanity extinction level problems, and he casts himself in a leading role in trying to solve them. At the same time, he has some practical concerns with what was going on in the United States. And he said very openly that if Vice President Kamala Harris had been elected president, that she was going to crush Tesla. And he felt like his businesses were at stake, the future of the companies, the empire that he had built.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

So how does he square his politics with this role? Because at one point he was a moderate Democrat and now he is Donald Trump's arguably strongest ally.

[Zoe Schiffer]

Yeah, the moderate Democrat piece started to really shift. I mean, it happened over the course of many years, but there were a couple key moments. The COVID 19 pandemic was one of them. He was very against the lockdowns. He thought that basically the Democrats reaction to the pandemic was quite overblown and was detrimental to businesses. He felt like the Biden administration had shortchanged him in giving him the credit that he felt he deserved for electric vehicles. And, you know, he's been going through a process that I think we can say a process of radicalization on the Internet, becoming more right wing, more anti kind of woke. And this was a core reason that he got involved with Twitter. He said that the company was overrun with something that he deemed the woke mind virus. And I think it's fair to say that when he looked at the country prior to Trump getting reelected, he felt like the country was kind of teetering on the brink of getting overrun with the woke mind virus once again, and he needed to step in and save it.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

To the question of his status, the White House says Musk is a, quote, special government employee. Trump himself Monday in the Oval Office was praising Musk's abilities, but said, look, we have to approve what he does. The bottom line is no one elected him. He has not been confirmed by the Senate. Should he have this much power?

[Zoe Schiffer]

I mean, even before he took on this role, he arguably had more power than anyone who wasn't in control of a nuclear arsenal. This is a man who has massive wealth and he also has a lot of political power. He has contracts with governments all over the globe through Starlink. And these countries, including the United States, are quite dependent on his work. So, so now he's in an interesting position where before the election, while he had so much power, there were also a number of investigations that were ongoing. The US Government was actively looking into decisions that he had made while running his companies. And, you know, there was the possibility of fines or regulations. Now he is in the position of, in some ways regulating the regulators and his power looks pretty unchecked.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

That moves me to ask, what does Musk stand to gain personally from his work with Doge?

[Zoe Schiffer]

I think that to the extent that Elon Musk can continue to amass wealth and power, he will continue to do so. He now is in the position of being able to influence what companies get government contracts. He really has the ability to, like, overrun how government has historically worked and this country and change it. And while some of what's happening, you know, looks unusual and I think that there are legal questions like they will take a while to resolve. And in the meantime, Elon and his team are really running rampant.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

You said there's a few areas that are worth actively looking at. Can you give me an example of places where you see potential questions?

[Zoe Schiffer]

Well, I mean, you know, there were a lot of investigations into Tesla and its self driving technology prior to Trump getting reelected. I'm curious to see where those lead. Like, I think that there are, there are big questions about how, you know, his companies will change and benefit from his new position that we all need to be aware of.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

So where does this go? How does this end for him and for the citizens of the United States.

[Zoe Schiffer]

I will be curious to see. Right now, it looks like we are watching Elon's team kind of infiltrate one agency after another. I think that we have yet to see, like, what will come of all of this. At the same time, I want to make sure that we are all paying attention to what the larger goal is. Because just like when Elon took over Twitter and he had kind of all of the goals that he talked about publicly, he wanted to rid the platform of bots and spam, he wanted to eliminate child sexual exploitation material. These were all things that most people, people could agree on at the same time. A couple years or a few years after the acquisition took place, we're in a position of saying, well, those goals do not look like they were achieved in many cases. And the overall goal, the kind of unsaid, unspoken initiative to turn Twitter into X, into a political operation that would elevate right wing politicians in the United States and around the globe, that goal has been very successful. And so I think we need to ask the question of what is Elon Musk's larger goal with the federal government of the United States?

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Zoe Schiffer, she is the director of Business and Industry at Wired. Thank you so much.

[Zoe Schiffer]

Thank you for having me.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

This episode was produced by Mia Venkat. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.