Nobody Voted for Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s growing influence over key government operations has sparked intense debate about the balance of power in the United States.

While some view his leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a necessary step toward reducing bureaucracy, others see it as a concerning overreach by an unelected billionaire. Regardless of political affiliation, one fact remains: Nobody voted for Elon Musk.

Nobody voted for Elon Musk. And yet, his influence has extended to areas of national safety and security. The removal of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief, coupled with reductions in the agency’s oversight board and reports that air traffic controllers were pressured to leave, coincided with the worst domestic airline disaster since 2001.

Whether these changes directly contributed to the crisis is up for debate, but the rapid restructuring raises important questions about the risks of such an approach.

Nobody voted for Elon Musk. And yet, DOGE’s access to Treasury Department databases has raised concerns among privacy advocates.

The handling of Social Security and Medicare data is a matter of public trust, and any changes to access protocols should be met with careful scrutiny to ensure they serve the public interest rather than private advantage.

Nobody voted for Elon Musk. And yet, his involvement in U.S. foreign policy is growing. His reported efforts to influence South Africa’s economic policies, particularly regarding investment laws benefiting Black communities, have sparked discussion about the role of private individuals in shaping international relations.

While businesses naturally seek to operate in favorable regulatory environments, such interventions carry diplomatic and ethical implications that deserve wider public discourse.

Nobody voted for Elon Musk. And while the debate over foreign aid is complex, the fact remains that U.S. assistance—amounting to less than 1 percent of the federal budget—has long been a strategic tool for preventing humanitarian crises and stabilizing global regions.

As DOGE moves to dismantle USAID, critics argue that this could shift global influence away from the U.S. and toward competitors like China. Supporters, on the other hand, contend that reevaluating aid programs is a responsible approach to fiscal policy.

Nobody voted for Elon Musk. But now, his policies are shaping the daily lives of millions.

The creation of DOGE was initially met with skepticism, with many questioning whether a department named after a meme coin was a serious initiative. Even as its role expanded, doubts persisted about whether Musk and his former collaborator, Vivek Ramaswamy, fully grasped the complexities of government spending.

Their claim of cutting $2 trillion from the budget—a figure exceeding total discretionary spending in 2023—was ambitious, but lacked specifics on execution.

The very federal programs Musk has criticized for inefficiency—grants, subsidies, and loans—are the same ones that helped build Tesla and SpaceX into industry leaders. The federal workforce he views with suspicion includes military personnel, doctors and nurses at the Veterans Health Administration, and those responsible for Social Security benefits.

Reducing jobs in these sectors risks significant disruption, with potential political consequences for both parties.

Musk’s approach to corporate restructuring—demonstrated in his overhaul of Twitter (now X)—may have worked in a private sector setting, but applying the same philosophy to the federal government presents unique challenges.

The question is not simply whether government should be more efficient, but how reforms are implemented and who is held accountable for their outcomes.

Ultimately, the debate surrounding Musk’s role in government is a broader conversation about democracy, accountability, and the influence of private individuals in public affairs.

While some see his involvement as a necessary disruption to entrenched bureaucracy, others argue that such power should rest with elected officials.

This is not about whether Musk is right or wrong—it’s about ensuring that decisions affecting millions of people are made with transparency, oversight, and democratic legitimacy. Because in the end, nobody voted for Elon Musk.