Ways Elon could benefit from DOGE
Two of Elon Musk’s companies (SpaceX and Tesla) account for at least $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade.
His entanglements with federal regulators are also numerous and adversarial. His companies have been targeted in at least 20 recent investigations or reviews, including over the safety of his Tesla cars and the environmental damage caused by his rockets.
Instead of entering this new role as a neutral observer, Mr. Musk would be passing judgment on his own customers and regulators.
A criminal law prohibits federal employees and outside advisers who are sometimes considered “special government employees” from “participating personally and substantially in any particular matter that affects your financial interests, as well as the financial interests of your spouse, minor child, general partner, an organization in which you serve as an officer.”
SOURCE: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/us/politics/elon-musk-federal-agencies-contracts.html
There has been a lot of concern in the media regarding how Elon Musk could personally benefit from the DOGE.
Here a just a few examples that they cite.
Cutting funds for mass transportation.
BENEFITS: Tesla and Boring Company
Handicapping the Food and Drug Administration- FDA (which he derides as the “Failed Drug Administration”) and the National Institutes of Health-NIH.
BENEFITS: Roivant Musk’s Pharma company and Neuralink
Eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau-CFPB and influencing the Securities and Exchange Commission-SEC, and the Federal Trade Commission-FTC
BENEFITS: DOGE coin (Musk is a big holder) and Twitter/X (The SEC is investigating him)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
BENEFITS: Tesla
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
BENEFITS: Space X
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
BENEFITS: Tesla (non unionized)
SOURCES:
https://www.fastcompany.com/91229782/trump-doge-task-force-benefit-elon-musk ,
List of Musk’s companies
Tesla
The company Musk is probably most well known for is Tesla. An American electric vehicle and clean energy company, Tesla has made headlines since its founding in 2003 thanks to its advancements in the automotive industry and its clean energy efforts.
SpaceX
To reduce the cost of space exploration, Musk created SpaceX in 2002. SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced aircraft.
Since its founding, SpaceX has launched 246 rockets and spacecraft, 207 of which successfully landed. Its most recent mission on July 15, dubbed the “Starlink Mission,” saw Falcon 9 launch 54 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.
X, Previously Known as Twitter
The acquisition of Twitter — now known as X — by Musk spanned from April to October 2022. In January of the same year, Musk began buying shares of the American social media site before becoming its largest shareholder in April. When Musk offered to purchase the company, Twitter’s board of directors unanimously accepted his $44 billion offer.
xAI
On July 12, 2023, Musk announced via Twitter the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI. With a goal to “understand the true nature of the universe,” some of the team’s members include previous employees of Google Research, DeepMind, and Microsoft Research.
The Boring Company
Musk founded American construction company The Boring Company in 2016. Its projects are primarily designed for intra-city transit systems to solve traffic challenges and enable point-to-point transportation.
Neuralink Corporation
Musk is also the owner and co-founder of Neuralink Corporation, a neurotechnology company developing implantable brain-machine interfaces. The company’s main goal is to create brain implants that can communicate with phones and computers as well as help people with paralysis regain independence.
SolarCity
Tesla also acquired SolarCity, a company focused on door-to-door sales of solar energy generation systems. The company, which was founded in 2004 by two of Musk’s cousins, was acquired by Tesla in 2016 for $2.6 billion.
SOURCE: https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/elon-musk-companies/\
Musk benefit https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/business/elon-musk-wealth-government-help/index.html