In a recent exchange on the social media platform X, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk and Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR founder Joe Lonsdale engaged in a discussion about government efficiency and the potential for significant cost savings through technological intervention.
What Happened: The exchange began with Lonsdale, known for founding the data analytics company Palantir, posting a comment about government spending.
“It’s impractical to cut the budget, we need to tax you more” they insist, as they hand out 100’s of billions of dollars to their progressive friends to recruit more progressive activists,” Lonsdale wrote on Sunday.
Musk, never one to shy away from controversial topics, responded to Lonsdale’s post with an intriguing proposal. “Joe, perhaps you would be interested in joining the Dept of Govt Efficiency,” Musk suggested.
He accompanied this invitation with an AI-generated image depicting himself seated on a chair labeled “D.O.G.E” – an acronym for the Department of Government Efficiency.
This proposed department is reportedly part of former President Donald Trump‘s plans for his administration if he were to be reelected, aligning with Trump’s publicly expressed interest in including industry experts in advisory roles within the U.S. government to maximize efficiency.
The conversation took an interesting turn when another user suggested that Palantir’s software could facilitate the process of identifying inefficiencies.
Lonsdale agreed enthusiastically, stating, “Yep. We could quickly find tens of billions of dollars of fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid alone.”
He went on to reveal a surprising historical tidbit, claiming, that 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, “even verbally agreed to let us do it back in the day but then his people stopped it from going ahead; wasn’t politically useful to find all that for some reason.”
This claim suggests that there may have been previous attempts to leverage Palantir’s technology for government efficiency, which were ultimately not pursued.
Why It Matters: The collaboration between Musk and Trump has been gaining momentum as the 2024 election approaches. In early September, reports surfaced that Trump is considering appointing Musk to a commission to audit U.S. federal agencies.
This plan has been under discussion for several months, highlighting the growing political synergy between the two influential figures.
Moreover, Lonsdale and fellow Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel have publicly endorsed Trump for the 2024 election, reflecting a broader trend of Silicon Valley leaders aligning with Trump’s policies.
This partnership between Musk and Trump has raised questions about the future of the electric vehicle industry and other sectors, given their combined influence and resources.
In a further sign of his political engagement, Musk recently hired a Republican strategist to guide his political activities, indicating a deeper involvement in Republican politics and voter mobilization efforts.
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Image Via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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