Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made a controversial remark on the All-in podcast, responding to a question about reducing the size of the government with former President Donald Trump.
What Happened: During the conversation, Musk was asked that in four years if you could shrink the size of the government with Trump what would be a good target?
Musk immediately retorted, “Are you trying to get me assassinated before this even happens?”
The tech mogul went on to elaborate on the potential backlash from disgruntled former government employees, stating, “The sheer number of disgruntled workers for former government employees is quite a scary number.”
He emphasized the importance of seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take serious action within a four-year period.
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When questioned about Trump’s seriousness regarding this issue, Musk affirmed that the former President is indeed very serious.
He expressed his belief that by eliminating “nonsense regulations” and transitioning people from the government sector to the private sector, the country could experience immense prosperity and potentially enter a “golden age.”
Why It Matters: This controversy comes in the wake of Trump’s announcement that he plans to appoint Musk to a government efficiency commission if elected.
Musk had previously detailed the potential benefits of such a committee, including a “tremendous amount of growth and opportunity” created by deregulation and reduction of wasteful government spending.
However, the proposed federal spending cuts have been met with criticism. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman expressed concerns over the potential risks to Medicare and Social Security.
“The federal government is an insurance company with an army. You can’t make major spending cuts without slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and/or weakening national defense,” he stated at the time.
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