The relationship between the world's richest man, Elon Musk, and the Republican candidate for the elections, Donald Trump, is getting closer every week. Not long ago, Musk, owner of companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X, formerly known as Twitter, boasted of being neutral, centrist, a man without a party. They even criticized each other. But since the beginning of the campaign, Musk no longer hides and is dedicated to ensuring Trump returns to the White House. He endorses and supports Trump, constantly attacks Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and the Democrats. He has mobilized his billionaire friends to finance a super PAC, mechanisms that allow bypassing laws limiting personal contributions to a party or candidate. And they constantly exchange compliments. However, this Thursday, the relationship has taken a step further. Musk, in one of his regular talks with the former president, urged him to create an entity, a commission, an organization to audit the efficiency of the public sector in the US, and even offered to lead it. And Trump has stated that if he wins on November 5th, he will entrust his friend with the country's makeover.
"At the suggestion of Elon Musk, who has given me his total and complete support... I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms," announced Trump in a talk at the New York Economic Club. "We have to do it. We can't continue as we are now," he added.
The controversial billionaire, who while declaring himself an absolutist of freedom of speech censors his critics on X and constantly spreads falsehoods and conspiracies, states that he is counting the days to enter Trump's government. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Musk posted an enthusiastic message: "I can't wait. There is so much waste and unnecessary regulation in the government that needs to disappear." In August, during a lengthy meeting, this idea began to take shape. And now it is being refined even further.
"He wants to get involved. He heads large companies and all that, so he really can't... I don't think he has time to be in my government," said Trump in an interview on The Shawn Ryan Show last week. "I would put him in the Cabinet, without a doubt, but I don't know how he could do it with all the things he has going on," he continued. This way, an ad hoc commission could make it happen.
Among Democrats and many analysts, there is concern. Recently, the Supreme Court, leading a conservative revolution, ruled in a very important case stripping powers and competencies from many federal agencies, and shifting responsibility to legislators and courts, not experts in each subject. Through this "efficiency" maneuver, a path could be opened to deepen deregulation in terms of security or the environment.
In his speech in New York, Trump pointed precisely to government regulations, including those affecting energy production, and promised to withdraw unspent funds allocated during the Biden administration. However, the main target of that audit or efficiency commission would be the country's major spending programs: Social Security, Medicare, and the Defense budget, in which Musk himself has hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in contracts.
The potential conflicts of interest are endless and evident, not only on the side of rockets or satellites. Musk has always lobbied for deregulation and opposed government oversight, in general and in his businesses specifically, while facing complaints and open cases for his labor practices, violating animal or environmental protection rules. "I hope to serve the United States if the opportunity arises," Musk tweeted. "I don't need a salary, title, or recognition."