We knew Elon Musk wasn’t throwing all that cash and trafficking all those door-knockers for Donald Trump for nothing. It seems like Musk is already calling in the favors, as a new report from the New York Times says Musk is already looking to set up SpaceX employees at the Defense Department.
Considering Musk’s alleged drug use (and obvious drug use on the Joe Rogan Podcast) as well as his late-night chit-chats with antagonistic powers as a civilian, Musk probably shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the Defense Department. But this is the bro’s country now. From the Times:
Even before Donald J. Trump was re-elected, his best-known backer, Elon Musk, had come to him with a request for his presidential transition.
He wanted Mr. Trump to hire some employees from Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, as top government officials — including at the Defense Department, according to two people briefed on the calls.
That request, which would seed SpaceX employees into an agency that is one of its biggest customers, is a sign of the benefits that Mr. Musk may reap after investing more than $100 million in Mr. Trump’s campaign, pushing out a near-constant stream of pro-Trump material on his social media platform, X, and making public appearances on the candidate’s behalf across the hard-fought state of Pennsylvania.
The outreach regarding the SpaceX employees, which hasn’t been reported, shows the extent to which Mr. Musk wants to fill a potential Trump administration with his closest confidants even as his billions of dollars in government contracts pose a conflict to any government role.
Trump normally rallied against EVs, but was all heart eyes during the recent campaign thanks to Musk’s $100 million. Never one for subtlety, Trump said in August “I’m for electric cars. I have to be, because Elon endorsed me very strongly.”
Folks who thought Musk would be the budget-slasher-in-chief would do well to remember just how much money Musk rakes in from the government each year. Even Tesla’s profits are significantly buoyed by selling carbon credits. Tesla turned a Q3 profit of $2.17 billion this year, with $739 million of that being just from selling carbon credits to less green automakers. Roughly 25 percent of Tesla’s operating profit has come from carbon credit sales since 2018, Barron’s reports.
The entire report is infuriating both in that it’s obvious that Musk bought himself a government to the detriment of all of us, and that he’ll get away with it. Head to the New York Times to read more.
