Dear John,

Elon Musk is rapidly transforming his wealth into a massive source of unaccountable political power aimed at reinstalling Donald Trump in the White House.

Shortly after the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump in September, Musk wrote in a now-deleted post on Twitter/X: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” with an emoji of a person thinking.

Musk later said his post was intended as a joke, but it could easily be interpreted as a call to violence, at least by one of his nearly 200 million followers. Under 18 U.S. Code Section 871, threatening a president or vice president or inciting someone to harm them is a felony punishable by a large fine and up to five years in prison.

Yet even as Musk posted a potential death threat against the sitting commander-in-chief, his multiple defense contracts with the U.S. government have given him access to highly sensitive information. His 4,500 SpaceX Starlink satellites account for more than half of all active satellites, and he plans to have as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit in coming years.

These satellites have become strategically critical to American security. Starlink has multiple multi-billion dollar contracts with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Reconnaissance Office. As a private citizen, Musk can cut off all Ukraine’s communications with the flip of a switch, unilaterally changing the outcome of a nation’s war with America’s adversary.

He also can also gain access to all the sensitive information gathered by Starlink. “Between Tesla, Starlink & Twitter, I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever,” Musk tweeted in 2023.

Tell Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: Don’t award huge government contracts to companies whose CEOs are actively working to undermine U.S. democracy! The Pentagon must deny Elon Musk-owned companies any new contracts.

Musk may have as much power as a nation-state, but he is accountable to no one. He does not have to run for office or gain the trust of oligarchs or generals. He is bound by no treaties or international accords. He could disrupt communications of U.S. allies just on a whim or out of sympathy for the other side.

Musk has also repeatedly posted manipulated “deepfake” images and videos of Kamala Harris, violating Twitter/X’s own prohibitions against deceptively altered, fabricated, or misleading media. And he has pushed white-supremacist conspiracy theories that falsely claim Democrats are “importing” large numbers of undocumented immigrants to vote in swing states.

Musk’s super PAC now has 400 staff on the ground in the 7 key battleground states, taking over Trump’s get-out-the-vote operation. And now Musk has appeared with Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump. Trump has even said he plans to give Musk a key position in his administration if he wins.

No private individual should have this much power in a democracy, let alone the richest person in that democracy. So I wrote a column proposing reforms to limit the power of billionaires like Musk. Musk’s response held forth in the best Trumpian insult fashion, as he called me a “miniature wanker” and “Robert Reichtard.”

I am not going to let Elon Musk bully me, and we cannot let Musk bully the nation either.

We need a groundswell of grassroots support to demand the Pentagon eliminate its dependency on SpaceX. Accountable to Congress and the public, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin needs to hear from tens of thousands of activists like you.

Tell Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: Don’t award Elon Musk any new Pentagon contracts, and protect the Defense Department from over-reliance on any one government contractor!

Thank you for strengthening our nation against the whims of the world’s wealthiest person.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action