Manchild In D.C.

The tech mogul hired former employees and other loyalists to access data sets including the private personal data of taxpayers, government workers, grants and contracts. A former Tesla engineer recently installed as director of Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration, appeared to confirm concerns by some tech workers inside the government that Musk planned to impose artificial intelligence tools on the federal machine. 

“We want to start implementing more AI at the agency level and be an example for how other agencies can start leveraging AI,” said Musk ally Thomas Shedd in a recording made at an all-hands meeting Feb. 3 that was shared with The Atlantic. 

Shedd suggested AI-powered coding assistants and federal contract analysis as examples of what he envisioned, but veteran federal employees saw tremendous risks in centralizing government data in that way, because the systems are hardened against outside attacks — but remain vulnerable to insider threats. 

“At present, every hacker in the world knows there are a small number of people new to federal service who hold the keys to access all U.S. government payments, contracts, civil servant personal info and more,” wrote one recently departed federal technology official in draft testimony for lawmakers. “DOGE is one romance scam away from a national security emergency.”

Elmo is preparing the way for the government contract to end all government contracts.

Elmo has no fucking clue what he’s doing.

These are not contradictory statements.

I keep coming back to it because it’s illustrative if not dispositive: Elmo can’t even get a self-driving car on the road (several companies have better programs/success). But he claims AI can run the government. Not because it can, but because Tesla is still a meme stock and, like Trump, Musk has realized the real easy money is in government work. (It’s pretty clear Trump’s most successful business venture has been the Presidency).

There are (were?) at least 30 federal investigations into Musk and his companies. His federal contracts are worth at least $13 billion. That alone presents enough conflicts of interest to keep him miles away from any federal government position, much less the White House. It also explains why he’s there.

Besides, he’s such a nice guy. For a ten-year old with anger issues:

You are fully retarded.

SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago.

I OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused.

Return WAS pushed back for political reasons.

Idiot.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2025

Elon, I have long admired you and what you have accomplished, especially at SpaceX and Tesla.

You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September.

— Andreas Mogensen (@Astro_Andreas) February 20, 2025

And the real power is still in Congress:

Connolly: "The fallacy of Musk's argument is they never look at revenue. They only look at expenditures. If you want to save social security, it's a fairly easy fix. Raise the income threshold subject to withholding tax and you can extend social security by 40 to 50 years, easy. He doesn't want to talk about that." pic.twitter.com/SCP5SEh59T

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 20, 2025

attempt to call Elon to account that the judges and "justices" and lawyers and legal process will be so stretchedthe out to the crack of doom that the only judgement will have to be the Last one. The laws delay has been weaponized like all of the automatic weapons in the United States for the protection of rich criminals.

I agree. I think the market takes care of Elmo. Tesla is likely to lose market share and go into the dark, simply because it is such a reviled brand due to its Nazi public face. SpaceX may well start losing contracts if Democrats regain Congress in two years and Elmo’s unpopularity gives them a spine. He’s already advocated abandoning the ISS and going to Mars. NASA wants to do that, but Elmo’s rocket for Mars keeps blowing up. Maybe Congress puts that on the back burner as it cleans up the wreckage of DOGE.

I think that’s where the accounting will come from. Elmo can’t do anything without Trump, and if inflation returns, even without a recession, Trump is gonna need a scapegoat. Trump is only ever loyal to Trump. And I still think Elmo is only his heat shield. After they’ve done their job, heat shields are always discarded.

Who knows? Trump may even try to cancel the SpaceX contracts. I wouldn’t really be surprised.