Recently, Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur of Tesla and SpaceX fame, has stolen the spotlight. His indefensible actions and statements raise comfortable cause to question whether all the power should be concentrated in one person’s hands. Musk has loudly railed against the bureaucracy, courts and regulatory agencies, calling them forces of stagnation. This heated pushback has drawn the ire, among others, of the AG, which has accused it of incautiousness, lack of accountability, and a propensity to rattle international relations.
In recent weeks, those tensions ramped up between Musk and former president Donald Trump. Musk raised the personal stakes in their public feud by accusing Trump of spending time with a well-known sex offender. The conflict intensified when Musk made a series of decisions regarding SpaceX’s operations, prompting observers to consider the implications of one person’s influence over significant national projects.
Musk’s actions, and Twitter’s fall from grace at his hands, have further cemented Musk’s reputation as an unaccountable global power broker. To say that his personal affections should color the major shifts of international relations would be dangerous and irresponsible. For instance, he resisted allowing Ukraine to use Starlink in Crimea to execute military operations against Russia. He even threatened that he could wreck Ukraine’s whole front line by shutting off Starlink. This audacious claim sparked a major diplomatic ruckus earlier this year, exposing the expansive scope of his reckless decision-making.
…Even as we concern ourselves with these issues, the United States government can’t quit Elon’s companies. Contracts SpaceX and Tesla have only made the nation’s dependence on him greater. While he was on their payroll, Musk publicly and successfully lobbied the Trump administration to privatize and “streamline” many federal operations. This engagement deepened his mandate and authority across governmental structures.
On the flip side, Musk’s reign has not come without cost. After his very public fallout with Trump, Tesla’s stock price dropped by roughly 14%. This is an illustration on a grand scale of how personal feuds can destroy corporate performance. Early last week, Musk made a splash with plans to dramatically decommission the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. This vehicle is critical to NASA’s future human transport missions.
“In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” – Elon Musk
This seemed like more of an emotional knee-jerk reaction, in the context of constant battle with Trump but was subsequently rescinded. Such volatility creates uncertainty around the continuity of operations that are increasingly being recognized as vitally important to our national security and scientific advancement.
Market performance has taken a massive hit alongside Musk’s public persona. He has repeatedly made clear that he is prepared to bear financial costs to maintain his ideological crusade. His immense wealth provides him with a buffer against economic downturns, enabling him to act without the same consequences faced by less affluent individuals or companies.
In the aftermath of these events, European governments have begun to seek alternatives to SpaceX’s Starlink service due to concerns about Musk’s unpredictability. The pursuit of alternatives raises a major red flag. No country wants to see some guy in a tee shirt commandeering our critical infrastructure.
As Musk continues to navigate his complex relationship with both domestic and international politics, questions linger regarding the implications of allowing one person such expansive influence over essential services and technologies. Recent events underscore the need to avoid centralizing power in a single, often unaccountable, person. This really is a tragic reminder of the ever-present danger in doing so.