Opinion: What's the Deal with Elon Musk?

What comes to mind when you think of the letter X? Maybe the alphabet, an X-ray or a car model? What about DOGE? Maybe a meme stock or a cute dog? For Elon Musk, it’s his attempt to mold the public’s opinion and gain unchecked political power.
 
Musk purchased Twitter for 44 billion dollars in 2022, virtu-ally buying himself a spot in the political sphere. He is clearly an influential figure, and Forbes credits him with the highest net worth in the world (~357 billion dollars). With this money comes immense power, influence, and a runaway ego. Musk founded SpaceX hoping to get to Mars, but instead has “only” built a rocket and flown astronauts to the International Space Station. His other company, Tesla, had a market cap of 1.4 trillion dollars at its peak.
 
While these feats may seem astronomical to normal people, Musk never seems to be satisfied. In his quest for attention and influence, Musk has posted roughly 4,800 tweets on X (formerly Twitter) over 30 days, for an average of 160 posts daily. In addition, he is hyper-aware of how to make his voice heard and strives to control public discourse. However, for some, his hyperactivity online has had the exact opposite effect. Musk’s post can come off as unnesscarily controversial and abrasive at times.
 
In the two years since Musk has bought Twitter, his influence has spread wide enough to grant him an opportunity to appear on the highly prestigious show “Fortnite Friday.” On Jan 8th, he was interviewed under the pseudonym “Adrian Dittmann” by a popular streamer while playing the videogame Fortnite. During the conversation, “Dittmann” commented on the Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, stating he was “glad it was a Cybertruck” because any other car would have had more significant casualties. In addition, he debated whether the Twitter AI model “Grok” is helpful and agreed with the claim that “Trump and his friends talk bad about [him] behind his back,” lifting the political curtain for viewers.
 
There’s no reason this man should be in an extremely high-ranking government office solely because of his wallet. Musk has cut federal spending from the United States disaster relief, the National Suicide Hotline, the Department of Education and numerous other government agencies/programs. He and his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) claim to have saved billions of dollars, yet much of these savings are unaccounted for and a majority of the claims are entirely false. These clerical errors are another reason to call the DOGE staff’s credibility into question. 
 
Yet, Musk goes on Fortnite interviews, creates alternate accounts to flatter himself and repeatedly makes false claims to the media. If any other U.S. political figure did anything remotely similar to these actions, their mental state would be scrutinized on national news.
 
For some reason, Musk gets a free pass. Why? It could be because of the obvious: he is the wealthiest man on earth, which inherently earns him enormous power and, there-fore, leverage.  More likely, it’s because his arm extends so far into the cur-rent executive branch that the media doesn’t dare touch him for fear of being exiled from the White House press room like so many others. Shouldn’t his erratic behavior be questioned? It’s important to reiterate that this is a man who’s so “chronically online” he created an alternate social media account just to praise his parenting skills.
 
From my perspective, these events are disturbing to witness happen in real time. And, In my amateur psychoanalysis, Musk does not seem like a stable person. He is exceptionally fickle, proven by his swings in politics. While he used to vote democratically and repeatedly denounce President Trump, Musk did a complete switch in 2020, suddenly becoming one of Trump’s most avid and outspoken supporters. 
 
Fast forward to the present, and Musk’s current governmental position holds access to all the nation’s data and sits one judge’s decision away from control of all government funds. In my opinion, this consolidation of power with one individual is cause for concern and could potentially cause problems down the road. For example, if one day Musk were to have an issue with President Trump, he might be willing to sell sensitive government information to a foreign country in exchange for monetary/technological advancements that would benefit one of his businesses.
 
Elon Musk used to be on top of the world. Around 2019, people compared him to Bruce Wayne, a billionaire who used his wealth to improve his community and create tech only seen in sci-fi movies. However, in the months since the 2024 Presidential Election, the public has begun to retaliate. Since Musk’s infamous “my heart goes out to you” hand sign, police are lining up around parked Cybertrucks and Tesla dealerships to prevent graffiti from being drawn, wheels from being stolen and Teslas from being set on fire. Stickers on the back of Teslas that read “I bought this before Elon was crazy” have been growing in popularity, and badge-swapped Teslas designed to look like Miatas have started showing up on the roads. Many consumers are desperate to avoid any connection to Musk.
 
In conclusion, Musk was never voted into his position; he received zero votes. He isn’t like any other political figure who got there through persuasion of the public or promises of policy change. He sits there solely with his wallet as his credentials. Musk doesn’t deserve the power he has, and any attempt to hold him to a higher standard seems to fall on deaf ears. If any positive change is to come from Elon, scrutiny has to be present. He needs to realize that whatever choices he makes will have resonant consequences, and he must face honest public discourse like everyone else.

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