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Your Guide to Washington and the World’s 2024 US Election Means
There must be an easier way to achieve government capture. Elon Musk’s head-on attack on the US federal government has created a frenzied energy, endless ambition and drive to embrace the chaos they expect from most prominent techno, via the so-called Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE). – Industrialist of the times.
This is not a way for oligarchs who want to bend the government normally to their will to go about things normally. But for the unstoppable musk (who made time for Openai’s almost $100 billion unsolicited bid), it was just a week’s work.
Understanding what lies behind his desperate attack is essential to assess the extent to which the masked frenzy carries him, and what dodge mania will leave behind when they finally run the course.
One obvious starting point is self-interest. Certainly, a wide range of mask companies, from electric vehicles to space rockets and AI, has given a very broad interest in government functions.
However, this requires little attacks on the government’s own devices. SpaceX already controls the US space sector and is thriving under the last democratic regime. I also don’t think Musk’s unconventional government services mission is likely to provide a very meaningful advantage for Tesla. Donald Trump has shown no tendency to reverse policy bias against renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Another potential explanation is that Musk’s attacks are part of a strong cultural backlash. The man himself claims that the gender transition of one of his children has driven him to “attempt to destroy the awakened mind virus.”
Attacks on liberal causes such as diversity, equity and inclusion have certainly stimulated support to break down the broader government’s machinery. However, the actual amount of money that is at risk in DEI is peanuts compared to overall spending.
It is an economic need to keep governments down to listen to Musk himself. But it is doubtful how much he is driven by something as abstract as he balances his budget.
Instead, his onslaught is felt innately informed by his own encounter with the government. From his running battle with US securities regulators to investigating Tesla’s unmanned vehicle software, Musk appears to see the government as an opposition that will hinder him from future inventions.
It also seems deeply personal. When Musk switched from a vote Democrat to a Republican in 2022, he complained about “an inability to lead Democrats, leading me, Tesla and the very cold shoulders of space.”
There is a strong techno-libertarian impulse at work. In common with other technicians who supported Trump, Musk believes the new president is unlikely to hinder transformational technologies like AI and cryptocurrency.
However, he was not as ideologically consistent as libertarian investor Peter Thiel. Shortly after the financial crisis, Thiel wrote that freedom is compatible with democracy, and that the only escape lies in new realms invented by technology, whether in cyberspace or Mars.
If the mask feels the same, he isn’t saying that. Rather, he intends to bending government towards a technological vision of the future. What he claimed this week in the Oval Office this week would bring about a true representation of democracy.
He brought the familiar Silicon Valley blend of work impatience, intellectual arrogance, self-interest and simple idealism. This is an attitude informed by what he considers as an engineering mindset that starts with the first principle and values considering even the most fundamental options. To acknowledge the limit is to accept defeat. Destructive or odd ideas are welcomed as marks of intellectual audacity and vision.
After buying Twitter, no one witnessed Musk’s willingness to almost destroy cost savings will be shocked to see the same idea being applied to the government now.
It is also not surprising that this unconstrained Silicon Valley sensibility blinds government reality and delivers hopelessly naive results. However, acknowledging the nuance brings doubt. And one of Musk’s superpowers was to never show a small piece of self-doubt.
Doge’s political costs could force the White House to backtrack. Courts could challenge the power to hack government bureaucracy and limit spending. But it’s hard to see what can stop the masking frenzy from running Amok until you reach one of these points.
richard.waters@ft.com
