Elon Musk is a person that forces us to ask the timeless query first put to us by graphic novelist Alan Moore; who watches the watchers? The New York Occasions as an important breakdown of all of the harm this overpowered and over-wealthy particular person may have ought to Trump each take the White Home and maintain his promise to place his rich donor able of energy.
Musk is probably the most rich individual on the planet — in all probability in all of human historical past — which already offers him an nearly limitless quantity of energy. He’s additionally had a ton of run-ins with regulatory our bodies, from the Securities and Trade Fee to the Environmental Safety Company and now the Nationwide Freeway Security Administration. Now that he’s full-throat backing Trump nevertheless, even the weak federal checks on his machinations may quickly go by the wayside:
Elon Musk’s affect over the federal authorities is extraordinary, and terribly profitable.
Mr. Musk’s rocket firm, SpaceX, successfully dictates NASA’s rocket launch schedule. The Protection Division depends on him to get most of its satellites to orbit. His corporations had been promised $3 billion throughout practically 100 completely different contracts final 12 months with 17 federal companies.
His entanglements with federal regulators are additionally quite a few and adversarial. His corporations have been focused in at the very least 20 latest investigations or critiques, together with over the security of his Tesla vehicles and the environmental harm attributable to his rockets.
Given Mr. Musk’s immense enterprise footprint, he can be a serious participant irrespective of who wins the election.
However he has thrown his fortune and energy behind former President Donald J. Trump and, in return, Mr. Trump has vowed to make Mr. Musk head of a brand new “authorities effectivity fee” with the facility to advocate wide-ranging cuts at federal companies and modifications to federal guidelines.
That might basically give the world’s richest man and a serious authorities contractor the facility to control the regulators who maintain sway over his corporations, amounting to a probably monumental battle of curiosity.
By way of a assessment of court docket filings, regulatory dockets and authorities contracting knowledge, The New York Occasions has compiled an accounting of Mr. Musk’s multipronged enterprise preparations with the federal authorities, in addition to the violations, fines, consent decrees and different inquiries federal companies have ordered in opposition to his corporations. Collectively, they present a deep internet of relationships: As a substitute of getting into this new position as a impartial observer, Mr. Musk could be passing judgment on his personal clients and regulators.
NASA, the Departments of Protection, the Inside, Transportation, Commerce, Homeland Safety — the man is a big drive in all of those and extra already. Ought to Trump win, an unelected Musk would possibly acquire the power to squash anybody who would possibly stand in his means. His outsized affect is already inflicting issues:
One such instance was the take a look at launch this month of Starship, SpaceX’s latest rocket. NASA has agreed to pay the corporate as a lot as $4.4 billion to take astronauts to the floor of the moon on two future missions — though the dates will rely on when all of the gear is prepared. To this point, Starship has not flown any people.
However the Federal Aviation Administration held up this most up-to-date take a look at launch for weeks, partly due to questions on hurt SpaceX has brought on to wildlife close to its Texas launch web site, a delay that infuriated Mr. Musk.
“We proceed to be caught in a actuality the place it takes longer to do the federal government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and construct the precise {hardware},” SpaceX mentioned in a press release.
This wouldn’t be the primary time {that a} wealthy individual tried to get their arms on the levers of energy within the U.S. with out successful an election. In 1933, the Enterprise Plot would have seen rich businessmen overthrow president Franklin D. Roosevelt and set up a Nazi-friendly army dictatorship, for example.
Irrespective of who you might be voting for, handing any single individual this a lot energy is a horrible thought. Head over to the New York Occasions to learn extra.
