Evidently Elon Musk’s friendship with President Donald Trump and authorities cost-cutting job has already saved a boatload of cash ― for him.
Only a month into the second Trump administration, Musk has overseen the slashing of 1000’s of presidency jobs by means of his so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity. That reportedly contains jobs at companies in command of investigating and regulating the a number of companies which have made him the richest individual on the planet.
Right here’s how else Musk is benefiting.
He has DOGE going after companies that regulate his corporations.
Information experiences this week shared that Musk’s DOGE is making big cuts to federal authorities groups regulating two of his companies, Tesla and Neuralink.
Sources instructed Reuters on Tuesday that final weekend, DOGE oversaw the firing of Meals and Drug Administration workers reviewing Neuralink, Musk’s mind implant firm. The cuts had been reportedly made to a division that oversees medical trial purposes from Neuralink and different brain-computer interface gadgets.
The Washington Submit additionally reported Thursday that DOGE made cuts to a specialised unit with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration targeted on overseeing the protection of autonomous automobiles like these made at Tesla. The fired workers embrace an engineer who labored with crash check dummies and a analysis psychologist who makes a speciality of drunken driving and dashing.
“If the question is, will this affect the federal government’s ability to understand the safety case behind Tesla’s vehicles, then yes, it will,” one fired engineer instructed the Submit. “The amount of people in the federal government who are able to understand this adequately is very small. Now it’s almost nonexistent.”
SAUL LOEB/AFP through Getty Pictures
A overview by The New York Occasions earlier this month discovered that the federal companies DOGE has been dismantling have dozens of constant investigations, pending complaints or enforcement actions into Musk’s six corporations.
That features 24 investigations alone from the Nationwide Labor Relations Board and a lawsuit from the Securities and Trade Fee arguing that Musk owes the federal authorities as much as $150 million.
DOGE has additionally primarily shut down the Client Monetary Safety Bureau, which was evaluating tons of of complaints about Tesla, together with many about debt assortment and mortgage issues.
The Justice Division is dropping an immigration case towards SpaceX.
The Justice Division stated Thursday it’s dropping a case it had introduced towards SpaceX accusing the corporate of refusing to rent sure immigrants.
DOJ’s 2023 criticism alleged that from 2018 to 2022, SpaceX blocked asylum recipients and refugees from jobs by saying in job postings and public statements that it might solely rent U.S. residents and lawful everlasting residents due to U.S. export management legal guidelines.
DOJ stated it was dismissing the case with prejudice, which means the fees can’t be introduced once more.
He could also be strong-arming advertisers to spend on X.
The Wall Road Journal reported Wednesday that attorneys for X, the Musk-owned social media platform previously generally known as Twitter, have been pressuring promoting conglomerate Interpublic Group to get its purchasers to spend extra promoting {dollars} on X.
Interpublic leaders, the Journal reported, have interpreted the strain as a warning {that a} lately introduced $13 billion deal merging Interpublic with rival Omnicom Group may very well be sabotaged by the Trump administration.
Musk has additionally been extremely vital of corporations that stopped promoting on X after he purchased it.
“If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself. Go. Fuck. Yourself. Is that clear?” Musk stated at New York’s DealBook Summit in November 2023.
CORRECTION: This text has been amended to make clear the standing of the DOJ case towards SpaceX.
