Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk doesn’t have much in the way of nice things to say about Biden’s expensive Build Back Better plan. He believes that the whole thing should be scrapped.
While speaking at an event sponsored and organized by The Wall Streat Journal, Musk pointed out that once a lot of these subsidies, regulations, and rules pass, there’s not really a way to get rid of them, and to be sure, he has a huge problem with a lot of what’s in the bill.
“Honestly, it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass,” Musk said.
Musk described how the US would spend $3 trillion more than it earns and said that this loss would apply if it were private. All the obligations that are already on the taxpayer like social security can be added to the mix. The economy’s future depends on the economic outlook, and no other bad events can be predicted.
Musk continued by stating that the government should serve as an referee rather than a player, and that it should get out of the path and not hinder progress. Moreover, the rules and regulations they impart don’t just go away, making it harder for nations to advance.
Musk says that many of these rules become obsolete as circumstances change. This makes it important to get rid of them.
“Rules and regulations are immortal,” he said. “They don’t die. The vast majority of rules and regulations live forever… there’s not really an effective garbage collection system for removing rules and regulations, so this hardens the arteries of civilization where you are able to do less and less over time.”
Musk was asked whether he support subsidies that are thrown at electric vehicles.
“We don’t. So there’s no need for supporting a charging network. It would be deleted. Delete. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies,” he said.
Musk stated that there was no expectation of receiving subsidies when Tesla began production. Musk said that the BBB plan’s subsidies are due to General Motors lobbying. However, he reiterated his belief that subsidies must end.
He ended by saying that the current government spending needs to be stopped.
“In general, if we don’t cut government spending, something really bad is going to happen,” said Musk. “This is crazy. Our spending is so far in excess of revenue it’s insane.”
While there is a subsidy for electric vehicles in the BBB bill, Tesla would reap almost none of it since it’s primarily geared toward companies that utilize union labor. This effectively makes this a benefit to American unions, and excludes Tesla.
Moreover, Musk is looking at this bill from the perspective of a business leader and seeing the cracks and pitfalls of the spending our government is doing, labeling it as “insane.” Musk pointed out that the government is “a corporation in the limit” with a monopoly on power and the only corporation that can legally do violence. Considering it’s a corporation that can’t go bankrupt, handing it more money than it actually deserves is a horrid idea.