Elon Musk’s growing influence on the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) and his close connection to Donald Trump increasingly ensure criticism. Most recently, entrepreneur Mark Cuban also commented with sharp words about Musk.
• Musks influence on Doge at a glance
• Criticism of Musk and Trump accumulates
• Mark Cuban with hate words about Musk
Focus on Musk’s control over Doge
With the takeover of US President Donald Trump Elon Musk appointed as a “special government agent” into the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). His task: to identify opportunities to reduce state expenditure. However, this decision met with criticism right from the start, since Musk has direct economic interests with companies such as SpaceX and Tesla that are influenced by government decisions.
It was also explosive that Musk, according to the white house, was responsible for monitoring possible conflicts of interest, as the Tagesschau reports. An unusual regulation, as administrative experts noted, since independent places usually carry out such checks.
But now a surprising turnaround provides new discussions: The White House has confirmed that Amy Gleason has been a Doge director for several weeks – and not Elon Musk. This late clarification raises questions, because in November Trump had publicly announced that Musk would lead the committee.
Musk itself also promoted the picture that he has a significant control over Doge, in particular through his influence on US authorities and drastic measures such as mass layoffs, the legality of which is still controversial. In the meantime, several lawsuits have also been pending against Doge, which is why it is speculated that the White House is trying to take nuts from the legal line of fire.
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Musk & Trump in criticism
The growing criticism of Elon Musk’s role in the Trump government recently had direct effects on Tesla. In several US cities, there were protests in front of Tesla dealers, in which demonstrators called on to sell Tesla vehicles and to put Tesla shares.
A Quinnipiac University survey shows that 53 percent of Musk’s voters reject government participation, while only 39 percent support them. His reputation disappears particularly among e-car drivers: 42 percent see Musk negative, while only 35 percent have a positive opinion. Experts warn that Musk’s political engagement increasingly harms the Tesla brand image.
The negative consequences are already noticeable: in Germany the number of new Tesla approvals fell by almost 60 percent in January compared to the previous year, although the e-car market grew as a whole. There is also a declining trend in other European countries and in the USA.
The protests in the United States took place under the motto “Tesla Takedown” and “Tesla Takeover”, in which demonstrators with inscriptions such as “Musk Bestihlt” and “Tesla financed fascists”. In Austin, organizers chanted: “Sold your Teslas, throw your shares away, join the strike post!”
Elon Musk itself is no longer primarily perceived as a visionary of electromobility, but is increasingly associated with Trump’s political camp. Industry experts warn that his image change from an “electric vehicle jesus” to the “Maga-Gott” could have a massive impact on Tesla’s future.
After the scandal between Donald Trump and Wolodymyr Selenskyj in the White House, Elon Musk also spoke out for the United States’ exit from NATO and the United Nations, as the Frankfurter Rundschau reports. On his platform X he agreed to a corresponding post: “It is time to leave NATO and the UN.”
Musk, who works for the U.S. Ministry of Government Efficiency (Doge), has already criticized international alliances several times. He described NATO as outdated and called for a fundamental reassessment of the US role within the alliance.
Dealing with criticism
After Trump Selenskyj described and claimed as a “dictator without elections” that the Ukraine started the war, this statement met with violent contradiction on the X. Musk platform, which has the social media platform, then announced that he would be “fixed” the problem, since he believes that the community is manipulated-a mechanism, with the user misleading contributions can provide fact checks, as the Frankfurter general reported.
At the same time, there are growing concerns about the independence of Musks Ki-Chatbot Grok, which was developed by his company Xai, according to Euronews. Research Würdem show that GROK was apparently programmed to censor critical content about Musk and Trump. Archived conversations show that Grok initially explained when asked that Elon Musk was one of the greatest wires of fake news on X. However, further investigations showed that the chat bot was commissioned to ignore sources that criticize Trump or Musk.
This discovery increases the concern that Musk uses its control over X and XAI to suppress unpleasant content. When the allegations became public, Xai tried to downplay the incident. Chief engineer Igor Babuschkin said that it was a “temporary mistake” that was quickly corrected. He pushed responsibility on an unspecified former Openai employee who allegedly made changes without consultation.
Mark Cuban: “Musk gives a sh *** that the Trump’s job makes it more difficult”
Entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently criticized Musk during an interview with Principles First Summit, an event, at which conservative Trump critics, independent and left-wing democrats came together. The Tech billionaire Musk does it “1,000 times more difficult” to implement his plans to restructure the US government-but Musk doesn’t care, says Cuban. He emphasized that Musk has no interest in the political consequences of his actions: “Elon is the shit. He will definitely be rich,” quotes The Independent.
Cuban, who supported Kamala Harris in the election campaign, described himself as economically conservative and socially more liberal. He praised Trump’s extraordinary ability to sell politically, but questioned whether he could also implement his promise. Trump is a brilliant seller who manages to see people in him what they want to see. However, he lacks the ability to implement his projects. “He is still in the sales phase – and now people are wondering: ‘Can he really deliver it?'” Said Cuban. Despite his mistakes, many of his followers would not have moved away from him, since they did not want to admit to have deceived themselves in him. He compared this with a marriage that the family rejected: “Even if you realize that you have problems, you don’t immediately admit that it was a mistake.”
However, according to Cuban, the role of Elon Musk, which, with his quasi-line of the Doge, has increasingly influence the government is particularly problematic. This close connection is not only a challenge for Trump, but also a great opportunity for the Democrats. Musk had delivered a steep template with his controversial statements and actions of the opposition. Cuban argued that Trump’s weaknesses are not only due to Musk, but also to the composition of his cabinet. “With some exceptions he didn’t hire the best people,” he added under the laughter of the audience.
In order to arrive politically against Trump, the Democrats would have to improve their strategy, said Cuban. You should increasingly present legislative proposals that voters convince, even if they are not adopted directly. A concrete example is a regulation according to which every unveiling of fraud by Musks Doge would have to have a law enforcement. However, if accusations have been unacceptable, Musk should personally adhere to defamation. Cuban closed with a clear message to Musk: “He either has to give in or hold his mouth.”
While Musk did not comment on The Independent about the statements, the White House reacted to the event with a derogatory remark. Communication director Steven Cheung mocked the summit on X as “Cuck Convention”, an insult that is probably spread in extreme right -wing circles.
Aka the Cuck Convention https://t.co/31ngxar90k
– Steven Cheung (@stevencheung47) February 18, 2025
The growing tensions between Trump, Musk and her critics show how strongly the political climate in the United States is polarizing – and how much Musk’s influence on the government of the Zankapfel has become public debate.
Editor finance.net
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