Is Elon Musk’s potential US government role a conflict of interest?
US President-elect Donald Trump may give Elon Musk a high-ranking position in his government.
SpaceX, X, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an event during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, on 16 June 2023. Picture: AFP
Lester Kiewit speaks with J Brooks Spector, Associate editor at Daily Maverick.
Listen below.
US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen billionaire Elon Musk to lead a special government department on state efficiency.
The Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, appears to be a nod to the cryptocurrency DogeCoin, which Musk is a fan of.
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The Pretoria-born billionaire will work with biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy in the department, which does not yet exist.
Musk and Ramaswamy energetically campaigned for Trump.
Spector says there is a conflict of interest. The only way to avoid this would be if Musk resigned from these companies and put his shares in a blind trust.
“I am not usually at a loss for words, but the last couple of days have just about done me in.”
- J Brooks Spector, Associate editor - Daily Maverick
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.