Donald Trump says Elon Musk has agreed to lead a government efficiency commission, which would let Musk influence federal agencies that regulate his companies
https://apnews.com/... Bluesky: @mack70d.bsky.social : The most chilling and foreboding sentence you will read today. Pete Miles / @petermiles.bsky.social : What could possibly go wrong? [embedded post] @fabiomuniz.bsky.social : EFFICIENCY commission — hihihihihihi [embedded post] X: Tom Coates / @tomcoates : Look, I know I live in a liberal bubble, and I know a bunch of peop love love Elon, but ... seriously? I would have thought this would be self-evidently a bad campaigning idea. I mean, how easy is it to find examples of *insane* and awful things that Musk has said in public?! Ryan Mac / @rmac18 : Trump has been impressed with what Musk has done with X, which is part of the reason why he wants the Tesla chief to slash spending as the head of a “government efficiency commission.” A look at how the world's richest man is influencing Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/... Mo Elleithee / @moelleithee : If he runs this commission the way he runs this platform, the government is doomed. https://www.axios.com/... Steven Beschloss / @stevenbeschloss : Musk's idea of efficiency is to fire most of the workers and amplify those who agree with him. No wonder Trump wants to give him more power if he can. Henry M. Rosenberg / @doctorhenryct : Trump may give Musk a role in auditing U.S. agencies as part of a govt efficiency commission to eliminate “wasteful regulations & spending”. Wasteful means programs that help ordinary Americans but don't benefit the rich. Another idiotic idea brought by the fevered mind of Trump. Adrian Dittmann / @adriandittmann : “I have discussed with Trump the idea of a government efficiency commission” -Elon Musk on garbage collection for rules and regulations [video] Shanlon Wu / @shanlonwu : What is an oligarchy? https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Justin Brannan / @justinbrannan : Trump's Project 2025 is a heat-seeking missile aimed directly at working families and union workers. Don't tell me you support labor as you promise to rollback worker protections and put Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency. Mark Jacob / @markjacob16 : Trump says Elon Musk will head his government efficiency task force. I'll bet they'd run the government like Twitter/X, welcoming Nazis and flushing away billions of dollars. Russ Jones / @russincheshire : Efficiency lessons from the guy who knocked 93% off the value of Twitter https://www.theguardian.com/ ... @acyn : Trump: At the suggestion of Elon Musk.. I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government... Elon has agreed to head the task force [video] Forums: r/LabourUK : Trump announces plan for Elon Musk-led ‘government efficiency commission’ | US elections 2024 r/NewsOfTheStupid : Trump announces plan for Elon Musk-led ‘government efficiency commission’ | US elections 2024
Context & Ripple Effects
The announcement became the starting point for a broader role around the incoming administration: later coverage described a Department of Government Efficiency network involving other technology and finance figures, not just Musk alone a wider efficiency-team recruitment effort.
The significance is not limited to cost-cutting. Subsequent transition reporting tied the policy agenda to possible changes to crash-reporting and autonomous-vehicle rules, areas directly relevant to Tesla, while Musk’s election involvement had already made the overlap between political influence and corporate interests unusually visible his unusually deep campaign role.
First-order effects
- Musk would gain a formal channel to shape efficiency recommendations affecting federal agencies that oversee his companies, immediately raising conflict-of-interest scrutiny around the commission’s remit.
- Federal employees and agency leaders could face pressure to justify programs and rules through an efficiency lens shaped by a prominent regulated-company executive.
Second-order effects
- Tesla and other companies exposed to transportation and autonomous-vehicle rules would have greater reason to track whether efficiency reviews translate into deregulatory priorities, especially after reporting on proposed rule changes.
- Other business and political figures may seek representation in the efficiency effort, turning an advisory commission into a contested route for influencing the transition’s regulatory agenda.
Third-order effects
- If advisory roles for major corporate owners increasingly overlap with oversight of their own sectors, the boundary between administrative reform and industry influence could become a more central governance issue.
- The episode points to a model in which technology executives convert campaign and transition participation into a durable role in setting the operating conditions for regulated markets; whether that model persists depends on formal safeguards and the scope of the commission’s authority.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing convergence of tech-industry political participation, transition planning, and regulatory agenda-setting.