Elon Musk's influence could become even greater

The donations are paying off: Donald Trump is giving Elon Musk the job he wants. The billionaire's influence may now become even greater.

Johanna Ross/Times Online

Of course, Donald Trump uses superlatives to declare his personality. The now re-elected US President announced in the evening that “the great Elon Musk” will take over the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE). Musk should join forces with Vivek Ramaswamy — like Musk, the tech entrepreneur who lost the Republican primary to Trump — to send a “shock wave” through the system. Trump's press release said the two would create an “unprecedented approach to entrepreneurial governance” and “the Manhattan Project of our time.”

There is currently no such “Department of Government Effectiveness”. So Trump wants to re-establish it. In Ramaswamy's case, it was more likely a supply depot, a concession to loyal supporters. For Musk, it means even more. He is getting from Trump the tools of power he demands. He was indeed speculating.

Donald Trump: Elon Musk invested $120 million in campaign.Image: trapezoid

The Tesla founder invested nearly $120 million (approximately 106 million francs) in Trump's campaign. He came along and turned his platform, X (formerly Twitter), into a right-wing echo chamber full of “Make America Great Again” bots. Most influential user: Musk himself has about 204 million followers on X, and he posted hundreds of posts last week celebrating Trump's election. Trump celebrated him at various campaign events.

“No one saves money like you”

So now Elon Musk, the epitome of America’s new oligarchy, is becoming a central figure in the Trump administration and, like Ramaswamy, while still being an entrepreneur. The richest man in the world has just bought his way into the innermost circles of power. The job he got sounds like he ordered it off Trump's wish list.

To some extent, he did. Of course, he was happy to oblige during the live interview with the former president. “I love this,” Trump said, finally jumping to his feet at the third mention. “No one saves money like you.”

A few days later, Musk posted a photo of himself standing behind a podium. There are four letters on the table: DOGE, and below it, “Department of Government Efficiency.” “I am ready to serve,” Musk wrote. It was late August. Now, three months later, Trump has given Musk everything he asked for, down to every detail.

This shows how interested entrepreneurs are in this. First, a commercial one. As Trump claims, there will be “smaller, more efficient government with less bureaucracy,” “freeing up our economy,” and last but not least, fewer regulatory hurdles for businesses. Also applies to Musk.

According to the New York Times, U.S. departments and agencies have awarded more than $15 billion in contracts to his companies Tesla and SpaceX over the past decade. By far the largest portion of that has been donated to NASA, which Musk has tasked with developing launch systems, among other things. Musk provides Internet services to the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan and the Ukrainian Armed Forces through Starlink. A few days ago, when Donald Trump was on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Musk, apparently invited by Trump, suddenly answered the call. He is said to have assured Zelenskyy that Ukraine could continue to use Starlink.

At the same time, Musk has repeatedly clashed with the very country from which he has benefited so much. Among other things, he describes working with agencies like NASA as “Kafkaesque.” For example, because U.S. aviation regulators delayed for weeks the test launch of a SpaceX rocket that was supposed to carry American astronauts to the moon. The reason: damage to the environment and local animal species, possibly caused by preparations for the rocket launch.

U.S. aviation regulators have delayed test launches of SpaceX rockets for weeks.Image: trapezoid

But Musk’s financial interest in deregulating agencies that do his bidding may not necessarily be his biggest motivation. His appointment carries political power.

'Big changes'

Based on Trump's announcement, the future governor general is not a ministry and may not even be an authority in the traditional sense. Trump did not say how many employees the company would have or how it would be structured. DOGE is designed to “operate outside the government,” apart from the White House, and primarily advises the Office of Management and Budget, which oversees spending across all departments and authorities. “Radical change,” as Trump has announced it, remains an innocuous way of describing the task Musk and Ramaswamy clearly face: shrinking the entire government apparatus.

This in itself is a core concern for the Republican Party. The vast majority of them agree on streamlining government and reducing spending. But cutting at least $2 trillion from the U.S. budget, as Musk proposes, is too radical even for conservatives. That's almost a third of U.S. spending in fiscal 2024. If he and Ramaswamy take this seriously, if they let Trump follow them, if he has a Republican-dominated Congress behind him, the consequences will be disastrous. Especially the American social system.

Trump did not disclose a specific amount, but gave a deadline: DOGE's work is scheduled to be completed by July 4, 2026, just in time for the 250th anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence. This suggests that this is not a fiscal policy project. But this is symbolic politics. This demonstrates the power of being able to treat a country like a troubled company. Simply cut off those parts that were declared in advance to be unprofitable or even harmful, such as the Ministry of Education. Reactionary forces in and around the Republican Party have long dreamed of destroying the public school system. Musk, who has been talking about a “wake-up virus,” would readily agree.

America prioritizes landing on Mars

Even if he himself could only suggest rather than initiate these steps, those who could do so were clearly under his control. The fact that Musk acted so naturally on the call with Zelensky showed just how close Musk has become to Trump. He is said to have been seen at his golf club in Florida almost every day over the past few days. Experience shows that Trump rewards loyalty just as Musk does. He was obsessed with the entrepreneur's promise to him: “America First on Mars.” Trump recently said on Fox News that Musk would launch a rocket there during his term.

By sitting at one of the control points of the future new government (which also eschews classic authority structures), Musk can further expand his power. He could use his influence to secure more lucrative government contracts for his company without fear of less regulation. And sell it as an act of charity: “Government Efficiency is the only way to expand life beyond Earth,” he wrote on X a few weeks ago.

Elon Musk will likely get richer before taking on his new role. After Trump won the presidential election, Tesla's stock price rose so much that Musk's book assets suddenly increased by $16 billion. The value of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin has increased by 20% in the hours since Trump announced DOGE. The fact that the future president has officially declared him Elon the Great may be almost as beneficial to Musk as the new job itself.

This article first appeared on Zeit Online. Watson may have changed the title and subtitle. Click here to view the original article.