Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said he is eager to join Donald Trump’s team if he wins the presidential election in November. According to the Washington Post, Trump is planning to establish a special commission to review the work of federal agencies and is considering Musk for a role on this team.
The outlet reported on Monday that the former president and his team had been discussing the initiative behind closed doors in recent weeks. The commission would reportedly be led by prominent business executives, whose task would be to “comb through the government books to identify thousands of programs to cut,” according to the Washington Post.
While Trump has previously dismissed the idea of having Musk join his cabinet due to his sprawling business empire, he said the tech tycoon was a “very smart guy” and could be a helpful consultant to the federal government and provide “some very good ideas.”
Trump has also praised Musk for the cost-cutting measures that he implemented after acquiring Twitter (now X) in 2022. Following the takeover, Musk infamously laid off some 6,000 workers, or nearly 80% of the platform’s workforce.
I can’t wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go. https://t.co/BOh3MIv4sJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2024
Responding to the Washington Post’s claims that he is being considered for the auditing commission, Musk wrote on X on Tuesday that he “can’t wait.”
“There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go,” the billionaire said.
Previously, Musk has written that he is “fully” endorsing Trump in the upcoming election and that he is “willing to serve” under the former president if he secures a second term in office. In a post on X last month, the billionaire also shared an AI-generated image of himself standing behind a lectern labeled ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ with the acronym DOGE, referring to the meme-based DOGE coin cryptocurrency, which Musk has personally backed in the past.
Last week, Musk also warned that the US was on a “fast lane to bankruptcy” due to government overspending, saying that this is causing rampant inflation in the country. The billionaire also shared a forecast suggesting that the US budget deficit could increase from $1.8 trillion to almost $16.3 trillion over the next ten years at the current rate of spending.
Mr Musk's interest in such an initiative is not new. Last month, he shared an AI-generated image of himself at a “Department of Government Efficiency” lectern, signalling his desire to contribute to the cause.
Donald Trump has previously acknowledged the Tesla CEO's potential value as a consultant. However, ethics experts are concerned that Mr Musk's involvement may lead to conflicts of interest between his business and the commission's objectives.
Drawing inspiration from past initiatives by Ronald Reagan and Tom Coburn, Trump advisers are seeking to recruit prominent business leaders to identify areas of federal waste. The potential appointment of Mr Musk to a government efficiency commission comes as the Tesla CEO increases his political engagement. Recently, Mr Musk hired a Republican strategist to guide his political activities.
Mr Musk's growing political influence was further highlighted by his recent poll on X, which asked voters to choose between Trump and Kamala Harris as their preferred president. He also sat down with the former president last month for a live interview, which was aired on his platform X. Donald Trump has also publicly praised Mr Musk, calling him "fantastic" and "brilliant.”
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