Elon Musk’s influence on the next Trump Administration is one more step in the political and media power of large corporations, this time of an increasingly libertarian Silicon Valley. Lincoln and a century later Eisenhower warned against this power. Musk intends to eliminate a third of the federal budget and a good number of national regulations.
Elon Musk is, without a doubt, a successful visionary entrepreneur. There they are, in a few years, the groundbreaking Tesla automobiles; Space X’s reusable rockets, with the goal of reaching Mars behind them; and Starlink satellite internet, a system that competes with others on the market, which has been essential for Ukrainians at war; or Neuralink for brain implants with direct connections to the machine, with a promising future. The acquisition of the social network Twitter, renamed X, has not been a business success, but it has given media power to the richest man in the world. Musk represents more than anyone the entry into political power of Silicon Valley, an update of the “military-industrial complex” that Eisenhower warned against.
That president of the United States, who had been a great military man, made this warning in his farewell speech from the White House in January 1961. Almost a century earlier, in November 1864, then-president Abraham Lincoln wrote prophetically to Colonel William F. Elkins: “I see a crisis approaching in the near future that worries me and makes me tremble for the security of my country. As a result of the war, the corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the monetary power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the people until all the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel more anxiety about the security of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.”
Although the largest and most influential companies have changed a lot since the days of Lincoln and Eisenhower, money has long dominated American politics, becoming largely a plutocracy. Musk represents the rapid entry of what Javier Echeverría called the “lords of the air” into the Government, a form of technofeudalism. Before, they were divided, with those most in Silicon Valley supporting the Democrats. Now they have become pro-Trump, because of the billion-dollar defense contracts in progress or to fall, and because, technolibertarians as they are called, they assume that a second Trump Administration will try to regulate them less (although, perhaps it will act against oligopolies) and will let them more freedom of action, in crucial years for the development of new technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), of which Musk has a dynamic startupxAI.
Furthermore, when it comes to China, it is not only the Government that wants to prevent, with various measures, the development of technology on par with the United States, but also many of these technologists. Also in the face of a Europe that does not achieve any large corporation in the digital world on par with the American or Chinese ones. Trump also, unlike the Biden Administration, has a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, which is viewed favorably by Silicon Valley.
There is a reason why Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of Washington Post It broke the tradition of several decades of that newspaper supporting a candidate, presumably Democrat Kamala Harris, in the last elections. Without forgetting Google, which is many things, or the Facebook galaxy. Both are also mass media, although they do not admit it. Significantly, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has visited Trump-elect at Mar-a-Lago. Musk, whom some take to be the “George Soros of this new right”, has already put himself (and about 100 million dollars out of his pocket) at the service of Trump, in general and with his omnipresent personal tweets. He has filled, much more than before, this social network, now his, with propaganda and misinformation, which has caused a significant exodus of professionals, brands and organizations to other social networks like Bluesky. Now Musk is on a campaign against “the traditional media.”
Trump appointed Musk and the businessman and early candidate in the presidential race Vivek Ramaswamyel, neither with experience in public administrations, to head a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, in its American acronym) that will radically reform the federal Administration and its programs. . The title is misleading. Musk will not leave his companies. DOGE will be, rather, an advisory commission, or an office, whose influence will depend on the personal relations of its holders with Trump, now very good, which is not guaranteed in the future with a mercurial president. If they clash, at least in the first two years, the president will prevail.
Maybe it won’t happen to Musk like James Hacker, the Minister of Administrative Affairs, in charge of transforming the British administration, from the famous British series Yes, Ministerwho achieved nothing because he was stopped by the senior officials on whom he depended. But you may achieve much less than you intend. It is true that the federal budget, like all budgets, is full of items that have lost their meaning, and is in need of a thorough review, even a zero budget (exercise to review all expenses), although not necessarily a total reduction, but rather an internal redistribution. Musk wants to come in with the axe. It proposes (although it will not have any executive power) nothing less than cutting “at least” two trillion dollars annually from the US federal budget, that is, according to the economist Jeffrey Frankel31% and also reduce 10 billion dollars in 10 years in tax revenue, which will not be recovered through higher tariffs. Naturally, without touching, or even increasing, the Defense budget.
Budgets are usually burdened by obligations, interests and inertia, as even Milei discovers. In the case of the US, discretionary spending is 25%, which, according to Frankel, actually remains at 12% unless they eliminate all federal funds for education. It remains to be seen what happens with health coverage programs for seniors (Medicare), for people in need (Medicaid) or the generals (the so-called Obamacarewhich Trump tried, but failed, to kill in his first presidency). Or with Social Security. To this, they will add a program of radical elimination or lightening of federal regulations. Trump will have to do something. The what is not clear yet clear. Musk’s aspirations seem overstated. And it is not clear that Ramaswamy fully shares them, especially in terms of speed.
Musk and Ramaswamy have gone to work ahead of Trump’s inauguration to hire all sorts of people for their DOGE, including some with experience in state bureaucracy, sound out their Silicon Valley friends, and launch a House commission. , where several Republicans have been enthusiastic about this initiative. Both know that there are legal and constitutional limits to such cuts, but they think they can be achieved with presidential decrees (Executive Orders), a thesis discussed by various jurists and budget experts. In a recent article to the lemon in the Wall Street Journalwere confident that the Supreme Court would support them. Trump wants “Elon and Vivek” to complete their task by July 4, a national holiday, in 2026. That is, in less than two years, something that goes against the rhythms and interests of Washington. But, they say in their article, “with a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity to make structural reductions in the federal government. We are prepared to attack the entrenched interests in Washington. We hope to prevail.”
Musk is tough, merciless with his collaborators/employees when he wants to achieve something, and has always risked, sometimes his personal fortune. His biographer Walter Isaacson highlights his vision, mission and extreme tolerance for high risk. He points out that he has symptoms of Asperger’s, which increases his ability to concentrate, but reduces his emotional intelligence. Consider also, as you have analyzed Simon Kuperthat, Musk was born in South Africa under the Apartheid regime that possibly marked him, not by opposition, along with other important supporters of Trump, such as Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, David Sacks, who manages venture capital funds and fundraiser for the campaign of Trump, and others.
Musk’s interests may clash with Trump’s. For example, about China. This, after the US, is the largest market for Teslas, a part of which are manufactured there, now with problems regarding the information processed by the cybernetic systems with AI of these cars. Although Musk competes with Chinese companies not only in advanced electric cars, but in solar energy, electric battery manufacturing and commercial space flights. He is in favor of raising tariffs but fears the impact on his cars and needs Chinese permission to move forward there with the development of his autonomous driving vehicles. But it competes with Chinese companies in commercial space flights, solar energy and the manufacturing of electric batteries. A complex panorama. Oh if Lincoln, the first Republican president, would raise his head and see that his prophecy has been fulfilled. In spades.
Add Comment