What does Elon Musk want from all this politics? | Elon Musk

Over the weekend, Elon Musk pledged to donate $1 million every day to registered voters in battleground states across the US who sign a petition from his America Pac supporting the First and Second Amendments. He gave out the first prize, a novelty check the size of a kitchen island, at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday and the second prize on Sunday in Pittsburgh. He says he will keep doing this until the election on November 5th. The stunt may be illegal, experts say.

After endorsing Donald Trump in July, Musk quickly founded America Pac and funded it with $75 million. In recent weeks, he has made personal appearances on the campaign trail several times a day, focusing particularly on Pennsylvania, a swing state.

What is Musk committed to?

My colleagues Nick Robins-Early and Rachel L entrance published an article last week looking at Musk’s inevitable influence on the US presidential election. The article covers the last few months of Musk’s political activities, but one question it raises particularly intrigued me: Is deregulation the driving motivation behind Musk’s political efforts around the world? Is all this spending and campaigning about cutting government jobs?

Rachel and Nick write:

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These constant battles with the entire alphabet of regulators coincided with Musk making numerous public statements in favor of deregulation and calling for a comprehensive review of the federal government. That idea resonated with Trump, who announced in September that he would create a government efficiency commission led by Musk to examine federal agencies for potential for cuts. Musk wants to call it the “Department of Government Efficiency” or “Doge,” invoking one of his favorite memes, an expressive Shiba Inu.

Although the plan is vague in detail and does not take into account the apparent conflict of interest in Musk’s scrutiny of regulators overseeing his companies, both Trump and Musk have repeatedly raised the idea that Musk could play a role in a potential Trump administration . During an appearance on Fox News earlier this week, Trump said he would create a new position called “cost-cutting secretary” and appoint Musk.

“He’s dying to do this,” Trump said.

What does Musk want worldwide?

Musk’s fight for fewer government agencies isn’t just limited to the US. Sometimes his battles with “the regulators” pit him against other billionaires. In India, Musk fights with the government over the distribution of satellite broadband and emerges victorious over Mukesh Ambani. Asia’s richest man had been looking for more favorable terms for his own telecommunications empire.

He described himself as a “free speech absolutist” and complained about speech regulators. When violent race riots erupted in Britain a month after the general election, Musk tweeted: “Civil war is inevitable” and posted a cartoon showing a character in an electric chair, claiming it was the government’s free punishment he has until 2030 gave a speech in the United Kingdom. He has made similar criticisms of the California government and Joe Biden’s administration.

His fight for deregulation regularly pits him against the justice system in the country in which he works. Last month, Brazil blocked access to Musk and X finally relented.

Are the regulators fighting back against Musk?

Recently, some regulators have taken a new course: They are starting to punish one Musk company for what another Musk company (or Musk himself) does.

Last week, European regulators took Brazil’s lead and told X’s lawyers that the EU could levy fines against the social media company for failing to comply with the digital services law. Crucially, regulators are proposing to calculate this tax based not just on X’s revenue, but on the total revenue of Musk’s businesses. The likely significantly higher penalty could hinder the social media platform financially.

In California, a coastal commission cited Musk’s penchant for tweeting misinformation during a vote to reject a petition from SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to fire more rockets from a base on Santa Barbara Beach. Musk then filed suit alleging political bias and First Amendment violations. He just wants to be left alone to fire missiles, tweet, and spend tens of millions on the presidential election.