On Thursday, Elon Musk advocated for eliminating entire agencies from the U.S. federal government as part of his campaign to drastically reduce spending and overhaul its priorities under President Donald Trump’s leadership.
Speaking via video link at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Musk outlined what he saw as the key goals of the Trump administration, making several allusions to “thermonuclear warfare” and the potential hazards of artificial intelligence.
“We really have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people — democracy,” Musk said while wearing a black T-shirt that bore the words “Tech Support.” He humorously claimed to be the “White House’s tech support,” a nod to his profile on the social media platform X, which he owns.
“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” Musk added. “If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”
Although Musk has addressed the summit before, his remarks on Thursday were notable given his newfound influence within the U.S. government. Since assuming the role of head of the Department of Government Efficiency with Trump’s endorsement, Musk has sidelined career officials, gained access to classified information, and sparked constitutional debates over presidential power limits.
Musk’s status as the world’s wealthiest individual through his investments in SpaceX and Tesla further amplified the significance of his comments.
His remarks also conveyed a more isolationist stance on American involvement in the Middle East, particularly in the wake of U.S. military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“A lot of attention has been on USAID for example,” Musk said, referring to Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development. “There’s like the National Endowment for Democracy. But I’m like, ‘OK, well, how much democracy have they achieved lately?'”
He also emphasized that under Trump, the U.S. was “less interested in interfering with the affairs of other countries.”
“There are times the United States has been kind of pushy in international affairs, which may resonate with some members of the audience,” Musk remarked, addressing the audience in the UAE, which is an autocratic nation made up of seven sheikhdoms.
“Basically, America should mind its own business, rather than push for regime change all over the place,” he added.
Musk also touched on the Trump administration’s stance against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, even tying it to AI.
“If hypothetically, AI is designed for DEI, you know, diversity at all costs, it could decide that there’s too many men in power and execute them,” Musk explained.
On the topic of AI, Musk stated that he expected X’s newly launched Grok 3 AI chatbot to be ready in about two weeks, calling it “kind of scary.” He also criticized Sam Altman’s leadership of OpenAI, which Musk is attempting to acquire in a $97.4 billion bid, comparing the nonprofit organization’s mission to preserve the Amazon rainforest to a lumber company that chops down trees.
In addition to his comments on technology and politics, Musk shared plans for a new “Dubai Loop” project, related to his Boring Company, which is constructing tunnels in Las Vegas to expedite public transit. However, details of the project were scarce, as Musk and the Emirati government representative he spoke with offered little information.
“It’s going to be like a wormhole,” Musk promised. “You just wormhole from one part of the city — boom — and you’re out in another part of the city.”
{Matzav.com}