photo credit: Mia Harrington
Does experience with business and social media translate into successfully having a political and government career?
Elon musk is a very popular social media personality, entrepreneur and business owner. He was recently appointed, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Musk has a handle on the mechanisms of bureaucracy. He sees less need for redundancy, and he thinks efficiency. Using the model of what he did at X, he’s going to apply those things to DOGE because that’s the way he thinks,” AP U.S. Government Teacher John Carmichael said.
Musk’s SpaceX is worth nearly $350 billion, with his personal net worth being approximately $418 billion, according to forbes.com
“Musk is a risk taker, constantly pushing the limits with his companies like Tesla and SpaceX. He’s ambitious, and he’s not afraid to tackle big goals,” senior Premier Srinaen said.
President Donald Trump was the person who appointed Musk for the role. He started appointing people early on and has had some other noticeable appointments.
“You can look at the numbers previous presidents have had, and Trump is ahead in that respect. In terms of the overall people, some have been really good. Where Trump is different from other presidents is his controversial selections are way controversial. When he goes controversial, he goes super controversial,” Carmichael said.
While most people might think that Musk is officially working for the government, that’s not the case.
“Musk is not going to leave X, SpaceX and Starlink. Trump sees these oligarchs as good resources. What he’s in charge of is called the Department of Government Efficacy, but it’s made up. So, is Musk actually working in the government and getting a government salary? No. He has been given office space next to the White House, so it very much appears that he’s going to be able to have access to Trump,” Carmichael said.
Musk has been an entrepreneur for longer than most people would expect. In 1995, Musk founded a company called Zip2 that would provide maps and business directories to online newspapers and sold the company for $307 million in 1997, according to britannica.com.
With Musk having these businesses, it proves that he has good experience, but it could create some issues.
“Musk’s businesses could create conflicts of interest, especially with SpaceX and Tesla having government contracts. Balancing his businesses with a government role could also make it hard for him to fully focus on public duties,” Srinaen said.
While some people think that Trump should find a new appointment, that might be easier said than done.
“That’s sort of the trick, getting these very experienced and successful people to walk away from their job and to sacrifice a period of time working basically for free for the government. People don’t want to do that,” Carmichael said.
Fulfilling a government role will come with its own set of challenges to face, especially for Musk.
“His biggest challenge will be managing his businesses while also serving in the government. His controversial view from the public could also make it harder for him to gain support,” Srinaen said.
Musk having a strong presence on social media could benefit him, but it could also hurt him depending on what he does. His decision in buying Twitter and changing the name of the platform to X and adding other features left many people with controversial opinions on the platform.
“Musk’s social media presence could help him connect with the public, but it could also backfire. His choice of words could hurt his credibility,” Srinaen said.
Musk being appointed for a government role shocked a lot of people. Since the nation is just at the start of President Trump’s term, that may make people wonder what other shocking things Trump is going to do during this term. “Musk is going to cut people off but then there’s going to be some readjustments. So, it’s going to be really fun to watch,” Carmichael said.
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