Musk Finessin’ the Feds: How Elon Stay Gettin’ Gov’t Bags While Cuttin’ They Budgets
Aight, so check it—the FAA just cut a deal to use SpaceX’s Starlink internet to upgrade its IT systems, and folks already side-eyein’ Musk ‘cause of the conflict of interest vibes. This man runnin’ SpaceX, pushin’ for gov’t budget cuts (including at the FAA, the same people tryna regulate him), and now he got his own tech locked in on they network?
They ain’t say how big the bag is for this deal, but best believe it’s a hefty one. SpaceX stay eatin’ off them federal contracts, mainly from NASA, and Starlink been cashing out with gov’t and private customers worldwide.
Now here’s where it get real sketchy—Musk out here leading a whole federal office focused on “gov’t efficiency” (read: slashin’ jobs and budgets), and guess who on the chopping block? The FAA. So bro tryna cut they money while also securin’ contracts from ‘em. Ain’t that convenient?
Musk been ridin’ with Trump heavy, and now he runnin’ plays inside the gov’t. FAA even posted on Musk’s own platform, X, talkin’ ‘bout how they already testin’ Starlink at a facility in Jersey and two more in Alaska. Apparently, Alaska been strugglin’ with good weather data for pilots, and Congress told the FAA to fix it—so now Musk in the mix.
Bloomberg sayin’ the FAA might roll out 4,000 Starlink terminals over the next year and a half. And look, nobody denyin’ the FAA’s systems need a glow-up—the Gov’t Accountability Office basically said they hella outdated and need urgent upgrades.
Then you got this wild crash between a military helicopter and a passenger plane in DC, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy came out talkin’ ‘bout Musk finna “remake our airspace” ASAP. So basically, Musk got his hands all in aviation now too.
Thing is, FAA already got a contract with Verizon for network upgrades. But Musk, in true Musk fashion, hit X and said “Verizon ain’t doin’ the job and they puttin’ passengers at risk.” So now it’s lookin’ like a straight-up takeover.
And let’s not forget—Musk already beefin’ with damn near every federal agency that oversee his businesses:
FAA & NASA (for SpaceX)
NHTSA (for Tesla safety issues)
SEC (for his wild stock market tweets)
OSHA, NLRB, CFPB (for how he treat workers)
But funny enough, he also been gettin’ crazy rich off gov’t programs. Tesla lowkey wouldn’t exist without them early gov’t loans, tax credits, and emissions deals.
Now, they talkin’ ‘bout “space mining” could make Musk even richer in the future, and folks in Congress startin’ to press him on it. Professor Richard Painter, who used to be a White House ethics lawyer, basically said Musk playin’ both sides too well and need to publicly drop his financial records like other gov’t officials. Right now, he got some “special gov’t employee” loophole that let him keep his money moves in the dark.
Bottom line? Musk got his fingerprints on damn near everything—the gov’t givin’ him contracts, but he also tryna gut the same agencies regulating him. And if space mining really pop off, he might be cakin’ up even more while still callin’ shots in DC.
The game rigged, and bruh holdin’ the controller.
