Elon Musk and his companies faced at least $2.37 billion in potential federal fines and penalties the day President Trump took office, according to a congressional report released Monday that highlights the possible conflicts of interest posed by the billionaire’s cost-cutting work in government.
The 43-page memo by the minority staff of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is the most exhaustive attempt yet to detail Musk’s alleged conflicts as an advisor to Trump and chief promoter of his team called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Based on publicly available documents, media reports and the committee’s own calculations, the memo found that as of Jan. 20, Musk and his companies were “subject to at least 65 actual or potential actions by 11 different federal agencies” and that 40 of those created $2.37 billion in potential liabilities.
“Mr. Musk has taken a chainsaw to the federal government with no apparent regard for the law or for the people who depend on the programs and agencies he so blithely destroys,” the memo stated. “The through line connecting many of Mr. Musk’s decisions appears to be self-enrichment and avoiding what he perceives as obstacles to advancing his interests.”
Musk stormed Washington by taking a battering ram to the federal government and becoming the administration's agenda-setter. But in recent weeks, Musk dramatically lowered his taxpayer savings estimates from DOGE's government cuts, disagreed publicly with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and butted heads with multiple Trump officials, some of them publicly, revealing divisions within the White House over Musk's influence.
Far from the jubilance three months ago, Musk sounded dejected in a Tesla earnings call April 22 as he announced he would be allocating significantly less of his time to DOGE beginning in May. Tesla, the electric car company he owns, had just posted a disastrous net income that was down 71% the past quarter.
Slate, a new EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, believes its new $25,000 pickup truck, which could cost less than $20,000 with tax credits, could help change that, its CEO, Chris Barman, told Business Insider.
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The average price of an EV in the US is $59,000. Electric pickups are even more expensive, with prices exceeding $100,000 on models such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Rivian R1T, and the Tesla Cybertruck.
holy shit -- Jay was spitting facts on Fox News pic.twitter.com/DayGGGCfu8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 29, 2025
TRUMP: He had MS-13 on his knuckles, tattooed!
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2025
MORAN: That was photoshopped
TRUMP: Terry, they're giving you the big break of a lifetime. I picked you. But you're not being very nice. pic.twitter.com/NgCpEB8o1S