There’s nobody more well-known in the tech industry today than Elon Musk, the currently wealthiest man on the planet. He has recently been criticized for the access he and his companies have had to sensitive government data. Musk’s financial ties to Donald Trump through the 2024 elections worry lawmakers. They are terrified this newly released information could be weaponized against them.
Musk, once Trump’s biggest financial backer during the election cycle, now heads a company called xAI. This subsidiary is focused on creating state-of-the-art generative AI models and tools, including AI chatbot Grok.xAI, which was recently folded into X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter. This merger has deepened Musk’s stranglehold on the tech world and the political sphere.
Don’t forget that the billionaire has accused his crypto, Dogecoin (DOGE), of saving the federal government money. DOGE’s doing the work Musk claims. At least DOGE’s efforts aim directly at a $2 trillion reduction in the federal budget. He claims this proposal would cut federal spending by $160 billion, mostly between 2025 and 2026. A recent analysis by The New York Times has found that Musk and his team may have overstated the impact of these claims.
Some concerns about Musk’s influence go beyond the provision of financial muscle. Senator Jeanne Shaheen has already expressed concerns over the unprecedented access employees of Musk’s companies, DOGE, among them, have. She’s concerned that this new access poses a threat to sensitive U.S. government data. In another letter to Trump, she expressed those concerns in very stark terms. She cautioned that a large number of Senior Government Employees (SGEs) from the tech world may be heading back to private industry and use their access to nonpublic government information to dangerously bolster their personal business interests.
The agencies in the hot seat are those charged with providing regulatory oversight of Musk’s many business ventures, including Tesla. According to reports, DOGE employees—most of them ex-employees of Musk’s other ventures—have already gained entry to private user data. This information is supplemented by data from the Social Security Administration, Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
As Musk’s 130-day term limit as a special government employee approaches, concerns mount about the implications of his access to government data. Even Steve Bannon, the billionaire right-wing puppet master, has raised the alarm about this state of affairs.
“Sounds like you don’t trust [Musk] not to take data?” – Ben Smith
Now Canada’s federal privacy watchdog is investigating Musk’s companies. They want to know if personal data was illegally used to train Grok without the consent of users. This brings to the fore serious questions about ethical practices related to cross-border data use. More broadly, it highlights the growing demand for regulatory scrutiny of the technology sector.
Even as the other big cryptos tumble, Elon Musk keeps trying to sell DOGE as a life-changing financial solution. He recently claimed that his efforts are “16% of the way towards a trillion in five months,” emphasizing his belief in the cryptocurrency’s potential impact on government budgets.
Lawmakers and regulators are increasing their pressure on Musk’s undertakings. For one, they’ll probably consider how his access to sensitive information and massive financial contributions distort public policy.
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