Elon Musk
Announced as co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency, a non-governmental commission.
Elon Musk is the richest man in the world and is CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and owner of X (formerly Twitter). A top ally to Trump, Musk’s super PAC, “America PAC”, spent $200 million to promote Trump’s presidential campaign. The billionaire made public appearances supporting Trump along the campaign trail, and he “[pushed] out a near-constant stream of pro-Trump material on his social media platform, X,” according to the New York Times. Musk also promoted a $1 million-a-day sweepstakes for voters in swing states who signed a petition saying they support the right to free speech and to bear arms. However, after the America PAC was challenged in court for violating election law, Musk’s attorneys claimed that it was not an illegal lottery because the winners were pre-selected.
Following the election, Musk was selected by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (alongside Vivek Ramaswamy). Per Popular Info: “despite the name, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not a government department or part of the government at all. It is a non-governmental commission that will provide advice to the Trump administration.”
As detailed by the New York Times, this position “would essentially give the world’s richest man and a major government contractor the power to regulate the regulators who hold sway over his companies, amounting to a potentially enormous conflict of interest.” Musk’s companies have already secured billions of dollars in federal contracts while his personal relationships with regulators and officials raise concerns about special access, cronyism, and favoritism. Even before Trump won the presidential race, Musk had “[put] in his requests for a friendlier regulatory environment” by asking Trump to hire employees from Musk’s Space X rocket company as top government officials, including at the Department of Defense, one of Space X’s biggest customers.
Musk has also used his considerable power to amplify and promote conspiracy theories. Following a 2023 mass shooting in Allen, Texas, Musk dismissed evidence showing the shooter’s neo-Nazi affiliations, calling the reporting organization’s actions a “psyop.” He has also amplified false claims about U.S. elections from his massive X social media account. A PAC connected with Musk also faced controversy for, per 404 Media: “targeting Muslim voters in Michigan and Jewish voters in Pennsylvania with diametrically opposed political advertisements about Kamala Harris”
Under Musk’s ownership of X, the platform has seen a dramatic rise in hate speech and disinformation. Musk reinstated banned accounts, including prominent far-right figures, and fired external teams and dismantled internal teams dedicated to combating misinformation. In 2024, the European Union charged Musk’s X for failing to respect EU social media law. X has been accused of turning into a major vector of disinformation and illegal hate speech under Musk’s leadership. And, under Musk’s leadership, X sued watchdog Media Matters for allegedly “disparaging the platform” and X threatened to sue “a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased” by Elon Musk.
Musk has also been accused of sexual misconduct and misogyny. In May 2022, Business Insider reported that SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct claim against Musk. According to *Business Insider, *The attendant “accused Musk of exposing [himself], rubbing her leg without consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.” In September 2024, Musk responded to Taylor Swift after she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, saying: “Fine Taylor… you win… I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.” Musk’s Super PAC also called Kamala Harris a “c-word” in an ad.