How do you think the next Democrat administration should deal with Elon Musk?

r/

Do you think he is a serious threat? Is he just too powerful? Should he be deported, or? How do you think he should be dealt with? There have been many investigations into Musk and his companies by various agencies and inspector generals, until leadership of those agencies and IGs got fired:

https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f36818894b0393eb0cba5aeba13d477c

Comments

  1. AutoModerator Avatar

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  2. TakingLslikepills Avatar

    Real question is how should they deal with oligarchs.

    Elon Musk is just the loudest one.

    There’s a lot of billionaires mad that they’ve been donating to Dems and making sure to curb stomp any form of universal healthcare, minimum wage increases, nearly all drug price negotiations, protect the carried interest loophole, and more but they don’t get there type of fine and precise control Musk has rn with Trump.

    > “These donors are also pissed, watching former and current colleagues have unlimited, unchecked power, and getting richer off of this and they’re not.”

    https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/07/hakeem-jeffries-silicon-valley-donors-00203076

    There’s a reason why Bernie and AOC’s townhalls are under “Fighting oligarchy” not “Fighting fascism.”

  3. Rakebleed Avatar

    By taking down Citizens United.

  4. thebigmanhastherock Avatar

    Like normally, like anyone else?

  5. CautiousHashtag Avatar

    Damage has been and will already be done, and Trump will give him a blanket pardon.

  6. Fun_East8985 Avatar

    If he’s committed any crimes, justice should be served for those. Once that’s done, he should be left alone (tho he has to comply with any new democratic policies, like potentially higher taxes). He obviously wouldn’t be allowed in the government.

  7. Cautious-Tailor97 Avatar

    This question reminds us of that time last year when he jokes to Carlson that if Harris won he would go to jail… that said, he will likely make a run for it if he’s out of power.

  8. whitepepsi Avatar

    Honestly I’d be fine if his citizenship was revoked.

  9. TossMeOutSomeday Avatar

    Screw the "next democratic administration", Democratic state governments could put the screws to him right now if they wanted, by reforming how they incentivize EV purchases. California pays people $7,500 to buy an EV, including Teslas, they could exempt Tesla from those subsidies tomorrow.

  10. Certainly-Not-A-Bot Avatar

    Deport him for lying on whichever past visa application he was revealed to have lied on

  11. Gryffindorcommoner Avatar

    Bold of you to assume there will be a next democratic administration anytime soon once Trump and friends same done degrading democracy

  12. jackshafto Avatar

    Cancel his government contracts. Deport his sorry, subversive ass.

  13. ButGravityAlwaysWins Avatar

    What will happen will be disappointing.

    But what should happen is that he is prosecuted, pays fines and does jail time and then deported.

  14. Different-Gas5704 Avatar

    I’d be in favor of denaturalization and deportation if not for the fact that he’d do the same shit in another country. He’s already trying it in Europe. So instead I want to see his arrest, prosecution, the seizure of all of his assets, and the maximum sentence in the toughest supermax prison we have.

  15. Klutzy_Blacksmith581 Avatar

    He should be arrested and processed and indicted for the illegal firing of tens of thousands of citizens and his absolute election interference .

  16. attillathehoney Avatar

    Grant him his wish and send him to Mars.

  17. Menace117 Avatar

    Focus on the fact he lied about his visa status and broke the law which is grounds for revoking citizenship

  18. Savethecannolis Avatar

    Campaign finance reform. I’ve always found it extremely hypocritical that George Soros or the teachers union can do all these supposedly terrible acts with dollars but apparently our hands are tied.

    A. We know that’s bullshit

    B. Money isn’t free speech

    C. Pass legislation to stop it Republicans. Dems would sign onto a bill in a minute. That Koch money that funds mom for liberty might dry up but hey, let’s go you cowards.

  19. curious_meerkat Avatar

    Cancel government contracts. Seize assets. Criminal prosecution for multiple blatant instances of securities fraud, and then after he serves time here in a real prison, deport him for immigration fraud.

    You know… what would happen to any one of us if we did what he did on the scale of $100.

    Seizing the assets is the most important part.

  20. Catseye_Nebula Avatar

    I think he should be in jail.

  21. FeralWookie Avatar

    If they manage to get in, as I have doubts at this point, they need to make an example of Musk and his companies. Whatever the strategy is, the gloved have to come off, and they need to be at least as unhinged as this admin.

  22. ergonomic_logic Avatar

    I don’t blame Elon Musk.

    I blame a system that allowed a non-elected individual with money to suddenly have unregulated access to so much sensitive data and have nigh unregulated ability to weild power over so many people in a blink.

    I blame the elected officials for being corrupt and incompetent.

    I blame the cultists who ultimately got them there.

    I blame democrats for not having their shit together from a leadership "adult in the room" standpoint and not being able to get Trump locked up in a 4 year span , having had gobs of evidence.

    And I blame the rest of us who know we need to act but really don’t want to do what has to be done because we keep hoping that we exist in a country of laws and frankly we don’t want to potentially have to bleed for a cause when we know we did all the right things to prevent it and we want to believe that humans are fundamentally good.

    Musk is exploiting the system and getting away with it because bad people exist and that’s why people who are decent are having to strategically have foresight to prevent this very thing.

    I’m not confident there will ever be another election for the US in the way we’ve experienced in the past. Not in our lifetimes.

  23. AwfulishGoose Avatar

    He should be arrested. What will happen is that people will worry too much about optics and vibes or what the fuck ever instead of what needs to happen. That man behind a jail cell.

  24. Diplomat_of_swing Avatar

    I don’t think Democrats should be so reactive to people and policy specific and instead should focus on the simple narrative. Republicans want to push YOU out of the middle class and into working poverty.

    A more condensed and aggressive version of this:
    https://www.tiktok.com/@couriernewsroom/video/7434720493091015967

    Then present an alternative for the future.

  25. Delanorix Avatar

    Elon said it himself best, if Don wasnt elected, he was going to jail.

    I am not one to try and stop destiny.

  26. SnooRobots6491 Avatar

    Investigate the shit out of him, prosecute him, then kill citizens united

  27. helm_hammer_hand Avatar

    Seize all his assets, privatize all his companies, and send him to Guantanamo Bay.

    And repeat the above process for every single billionaire.

  28. BIGoleICEBERG Avatar

    I think they should be giving contracts to companies he doesn’t own. Specifically, satellites.

    And next time he union busts they should actually enforce the law and help out the Tesla workers.

  29. jonny_sidebar Avatar

    Expulsion to CECO down in El Salvador seems appropriate. 

    But, since I oppose the existence of places like CECO, how’s about we install Elon in an exhibit at the National Zoo and sell tickets to fuck with him. $2 to drop him into a dunk tank, $5 to nail him with a pie.

  30. DizzyNerd Avatar

    Asset seizure, prosecution for crimes committed. He’s a citizen not a green card holder, so he can sit in prison without hope of deportation. Have him charged with state and federal crimes he’s guilty of so he can’t just be pardoned by the next republican.

  31. yasinburak15 Avatar

    Break up his monopoly and deport him. Get rid of citizens united.

    But will a democratic administration do this? I doubt, more like a tap on the wrist and calling it a day.

  32. Felon73 Avatar

    Take all of his shit and put him on a Space X rocket and send him off of this planet and out of our orbit. Let the fucker float around in the dead, empty vacuum of space for eternity.

  33. 2dank4normies Avatar

    State criminal prosecutors and regulators should go after him relentlessly.

    Regulate social media.

    Biggest lie anyone has ever been convinced is that this guy is a net positive.

    End all of his federal contracts. Get NASA to poach the entire SpaceX team and destroy the value of SpaceX. Make him choose to either have to sell it to someone else or take it to his buddies in Russia/China, deeming him an enemy of the United States.

    This is all just specific to him. We need many reforms to stop this bullshit from happening more.

  34. heelspider Avatar

    Sorry, pet peeve, but the correct term is "Democratic" as in "the next Democratic administration."

  35. decatur8r Avatar

    Musk is not the problem it is a political system that lets billionaires buy it.

  36. NotTooGoodBitch Avatar

    He’s a U.S. citizen.

  37. Kellosian Avatar

    I sure hope that Democrats don’t do anything too divisive or polarizing, we should try and have more bipartisan unity and make sure that any punishment he faces is doled out in 30 years time (gotta make sure that everything is in proper order!) while also recognizing that this is his first offense (we should have a 3-strikes rule for oligarchs buying our republic and openly promoting fascist ideology)! When they go low, we should go high and let our justice system speak for itself /s

    Nah, I’m just kidding. The next President should revoke his immigration status (without telling him) and then send two dozen plainclothes ICE agents to ship him to an undisclosed location somewhere in the world without letting him contact his lawyers. Then take all his stock and distribute it among the workers at his company (80% of shares should go to the bottom 20% in annual income), charge him with drug trafficking, human smuggling, and terrorism (because conservatives/reactionaries don’t think drug trafficking terrorists deserve rights or should be allowed to participate in society), take all of his property in civil forfeiture (he probably used his house and private jets for crimes), have teams of the most skilled IRS agents available go through every scrap of paper he’s ever looked at, and then dump him outside a prison in the middle of nowhere without a phone.

    Oh and since he won’t have proper immigration status any more, if a cop finds him he’ll be obligated to put him right back into jail for the crime of not teleporting back to South Africa. I think that would be a decent deterrent in case other billionaires want to try this same shit.

  38. AssPlay69420 Avatar

    A one way ticket to Mars.

  39. Chendo462 Avatar

    They will do nothing. Dems lose because they have a sense of country, due process, and inclusion.

  40. mam88k Avatar

    Anti-trust? Brake it up!

  41. Deedeelite Avatar

    Rescind his citizenship then send him to El Salvador since it’s where all the criminals are apparently supposed to go.

  42. Eric848448 Avatar

    Promote to window inspector?

    On a more serious note, it’s a really shitty situation with no obvious solution.

    Even if he does something to get the boot, there’s no way in hell he doesn’t get a full pardon from Trump on the way out. Even if Trump HATES him by then, he knows way too much and Trump’s people know it.

    They can’t really tell SpaceX to fuck off because there isn’t an alternative.

    Bezos is trying to compete with Blue Origin but that’s going to be a pipe dream for a very long time.

    NY takes a fairly dim view on securities fraud so that could be an option.

  43. Oceanbreeze871 Avatar

    All the things suggested plus Be given “Persona non grata” status.

  44. jweezy2045 Avatar

    Tax the rich.

  45. SamuraiRafiki Avatar

    The citizens should deal with Elon Musk, not the government.

  46. HiImDIZZ Avatar

    Revoke his citizenship and deport him. Then watch all the Republicans call it cruel all of the sudden.

  47. e_hatt_swank Avatar

    I’ve been thinking about this as my litmus test for Dem candidates. Let’s assume we have elections in 2028 and Dems take the White House. Day one: any & all govt contracts with Tesla, SpaceX, any Musk companies – gone, cancelled, torn up. Any Starlink devices on Federal property – decommissioned & scanned for spyware etc. No commissions to “study the issue” or anything like that; just do it. If a candidate can’t commit to this no-brainer, then I’m not interested.

    After that, investigations for corruption, self-dealing, other crimes can be handled as needed.

  48. SirEDCaLot Avatar

    All you folks focusing on Elon have never been to a magic show.

    The magician sets up the trick, then the cute bikini clad assistant jumps around and flourishes her hands and blows on the deck and whatever and it’s all to distract you from noticing that the magician just palmed your card rather than shuffling it.

    Elon isn’t the magician here. He’s the assistant. I’m sure he doesn’t look good in a swimsuit, but he is a highly visible attention sponge. So every bit of attention focused on him is attention distracted from what’s actually important.

    Elon doesn’t fucking matter.

    The next administration should tell him to go back to building cars and launching rockets, where he’s most useful. And then focus on the people with actual authority- Trump and his lieutenants.

    I’m quite sure a thorough investigation would turn up plenty of evidence of wrongdoing. Focus on that, prosecute those responsible, and offer every single one of them a plea deal that they walk free with no further consequences AS LONG AS they sign an agreement that for the rest of their lives they will serve no position in government, nor government advisors/contractors, nor lobbying firms. So that way anyone who does wrong is removed from government influence for good.

  49. rustyshackleford7879 Avatar

    Fund his trip to mars and don’t let him come back.

  50. Vegetable-Two-4644 Avatar

    Same way we should deal with most ultra powerful oligarchs. Have them actually pay taxes and remove the power of money in politics.

  51. ShinyNoodle Avatar

    He should be arrested and his assets and wealth should be confiscated under asset forfeiture laws. He is a crime boss and needs to held accountable. 

  52. Okbuddyliberals Avatar

    There’s nothing realistic that can be done other than firing Musk from any government position he still holds by then. Democrats are not supposed to be the party of revenge and such

  53. RadTimeWizard Avatar

    Prison, and freeze his assets.

  54. nakfoor Avatar

    Democrats played a role in the rise of these robber barons with their subsidies to Silicon Valley through the Obama years. It’s hard to predict the future, but I think the most likely outcome if Democrats regain power is that the relationship between the barons and the government continues, but at a slightly diminished level. If their influence in the government was 5/10 under Biden, 10/10 under Trump, I think the window will shift to something like a 7 or 8 under the next Democratic president. One step forward, two steps back. I think the best we can hope for from a Democratic president is diminished influence from Musk and the other oligarchs. The guardrails for billionaires to mess with elections and the government need to be completely reforged. I don’t know if that will ever happen.

  55. almightywhacko Avatar

    The next Democratic administration should cancel all of the contracts between the government and any of Musk’s businesses. No more contracts for SpaceX, Starlink or Tesla. No subsidies, nothing. The president should also shut down the official @PotUS account on Twitter.

    I’d also re-open any investigation that was cancelled and go through those company’s finances for anything illegal and fineable.

    He illegally interfered with those investigations with Trump’s blessing so it might be hard to pin obstruction or something on him, but I’m willing to bet a Ketamine addict and raging narcissist like Musk was willing to push the officers of his companies to engage in the occasional illegal accounting trick. Lets find them and remind these companies that falsifying financial records is a crime.

  56. ScientificSkepticism Avatar

    Investigate his companies. There were already investigations underway when he bought Trummp to short circuit them, restart them – restart all the investigations Trump shut down (like the corrupt governor, etc.)

    Tax his companies

    Tax him

    Stop allowing market manipulations and obvious tax dodges and dodgy sales, like selling X to his stupid AI company.

    On a larger issue, make Citizens United an amendment, and add that no one can serve in any position for a corporation while working for the government. Add a department to investigate people who get corporate payments or jobs post government career, to ensure that no quid pro quo relationship existed.

  57. PrincessKnightAmber Avatar

    Send him to an El Salvador prison.

  58. goddamnitwhalen Avatar

    I have a very dim view of billionaires and an even dimmer view of traitors.

    Make of that what you will.

  59. goddamnitwhalen Avatar

    They definitely blocked me (lmao, I win), but, generally speaking, insulting your opponent’s accomplishments is not a winning strategy when it comes to debates.

    Just throwing that out there as a helpful tip 🙂

  60. nightwolves Avatar

    Tarring & feathering?

  61. Altamatem Avatar

    I think going after Musk should by one of the major priorities of a future Democrat administration. Being the loudest, wealthiest (and stupidest) of the current oligarchs, he is the best suited to be made an example out of.

    1. Investigate the fuck out of him. Find all his wrongdoings and unlawful activities and put him on trial. Anything from facilitating voter fraud and treason, to jaywalking.
    2. Hit him with massive fines. Seize all his property, assets and companies to be sold off or nationalized. Focus less on trying to put him an orange jumpsuit and more in just trying to send him broke.
    3. Revoke his citizenship and ban him from entering the United States. If possible, also try and mend relations with Canada and get them to revoke his citizenship, forcing him to be deported back to South Africa.
    4. Use him as a reason to invoke substantial reforms around campaign finance, social media and market manipulation so that all the shit he pulled cannot happen again.
  62. headcodered Avatar

    Hoping a plummer in green takes care of it before then.

  63. Academic-Bakers- Avatar

    The Constitution is very clear on the punishment for treason.

  64. normalice0 Avatar

    by definitely not appointing Merrick Garland as AG. Give Jack Smith a go, I say.

  65. jkh107 Avatar

    Damnatio memoriae. Him and Trump both.

  66. chrisnlnz Avatar

    Maybe investigate him for 4 years, never reach a conclusion or a sentencing, and hand the White House back over to him.

  67. Pitiful-Ad-5372 Avatar

    Hes resulted in the death of millions of innocent people. He’s not innocent. Hmmm.

  68. almondjuice442 Avatar

    tax him, implement a wealth tax