SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
'Chainsaw Anyone?' As Musk Attacks Public Workers, Analysis Details $38 Billion in Taxpayer Gifts to World's Richest Man
A former member of the National Economic Council under Biden asked if anyone can "think of another way to save over $38 billion that doesn't involve vandalizing agencies."
Feb 26, 2025
A group of Washington Post journalists on Wednesday published what appears to be the most comprehensive readout to date of the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits that the companies of Elon Musk, who has helped carry out the Trump administration's punishing cuts to government personnel, have secured over the past two decades.
The world's richest man is also "one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers' coffers," per the Post, which reported that Musk's various companies received at least $38 billion from the U.S. government since 2006—prompting a number of observers to argue that cutting off this spigot ought to be the focus of government saving efforts.
Tim Wu, who worked on competition policy at the National Economic Council under former President Joe Biden, shared the Post's reporting and wrote: "Can anyone think of another way to save over $38 billion that doesn't involve vandalizing agencies."
Since Trump was inaugurated, Elon Musk has helped oversee personnel cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory group. Just last week, federal workers received an Musk-backed order, asking them to detail their work in an email or face termination.
So far, the Trump administration has culled some 30,000 federal employees, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Law.
In the public eye, Musk is also closely associated with the effort to slash government spending and personnel. Musk recently appeared on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), brandishing a chainsaw that was given to him by Argentine President Javier Milei—a nod to Milei’s "chainsaw plan" to slash public spending and implement austerity measures.
One Democratic lawmaker used the CPAC gimmick to highlight Musk's own hypocrisy. "Chainsaw anyone? They're on sale at Home Depot," wrote Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on X. She included a link to the Post's article and also wrote that "Musk's business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding.'
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who has previously criticized Musk for benefiting from government funds while working to scale back government, also posted the Post's reporting and highlighted other recent reporting that, in Casar's words, show "Trump & Elon are corrupt."
The Post's analysis notes that the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits helped "seed the growth" that eventually turned Musk into the world's richest man. The $38 billion is likely an undercount because the analysis does not include classified defense and intelligence work for the government, and an additional 52 ongoing contracts with various agencies are slated to potentially pay Musk's ventures an additional $11.8 billion over the next few years.
The electric vehicle company Tesla in particular, according to the Post, benefited from the government's largesse in its path to profitability.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A group of Washington Post journalists on Wednesday published what appears to be the most comprehensive readout to date of the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits that the companies of Elon Musk, who has helped carry out the Trump administration's punishing cuts to government personnel, have secured over the past two decades.
The world's richest man is also "one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers' coffers," per the Post, which reported that Musk's various companies received at least $38 billion from the U.S. government since 2006—prompting a number of observers to argue that cutting off this spigot ought to be the focus of government saving efforts.
Tim Wu, who worked on competition policy at the National Economic Council under former President Joe Biden, shared the Post's reporting and wrote: "Can anyone think of another way to save over $38 billion that doesn't involve vandalizing agencies."
Since Trump was inaugurated, Elon Musk has helped oversee personnel cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory group. Just last week, federal workers received an Musk-backed order, asking them to detail their work in an email or face termination.
So far, the Trump administration has culled some 30,000 federal employees, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Law.
In the public eye, Musk is also closely associated with the effort to slash government spending and personnel. Musk recently appeared on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), brandishing a chainsaw that was given to him by Argentine President Javier Milei—a nod to Milei’s "chainsaw plan" to slash public spending and implement austerity measures.
One Democratic lawmaker used the CPAC gimmick to highlight Musk's own hypocrisy. "Chainsaw anyone? They're on sale at Home Depot," wrote Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on X. She included a link to the Post's article and also wrote that "Musk's business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding.'
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who has previously criticized Musk for benefiting from government funds while working to scale back government, also posted the Post's reporting and highlighted other recent reporting that, in Casar's words, show "Trump & Elon are corrupt."
The Post's analysis notes that the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits helped "seed the growth" that eventually turned Musk into the world's richest man. The $38 billion is likely an undercount because the analysis does not include classified defense and intelligence work for the government, and an additional 52 ongoing contracts with various agencies are slated to potentially pay Musk's ventures an additional $11.8 billion over the next few years.
The electric vehicle company Tesla in particular, according to the Post, benefited from the government's largesse in its path to profitability.
A group of Washington Post journalists on Wednesday published what appears to be the most comprehensive readout to date of the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits that the companies of Elon Musk, who has helped carry out the Trump administration's punishing cuts to government personnel, have secured over the past two decades.
The world's richest man is also "one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers' coffers," per the Post, which reported that Musk's various companies received at least $38 billion from the U.S. government since 2006—prompting a number of observers to argue that cutting off this spigot ought to be the focus of government saving efforts.
Tim Wu, who worked on competition policy at the National Economic Council under former President Joe Biden, shared the Post's reporting and wrote: "Can anyone think of another way to save over $38 billion that doesn't involve vandalizing agencies."
Since Trump was inaugurated, Elon Musk has helped oversee personnel cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory group. Just last week, federal workers received an Musk-backed order, asking them to detail their work in an email or face termination.
So far, the Trump administration has culled some 30,000 federal employees, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Law.
In the public eye, Musk is also closely associated with the effort to slash government spending and personnel. Musk recently appeared on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), brandishing a chainsaw that was given to him by Argentine President Javier Milei—a nod to Milei’s "chainsaw plan" to slash public spending and implement austerity measures.
One Democratic lawmaker used the CPAC gimmick to highlight Musk's own hypocrisy. "Chainsaw anyone? They're on sale at Home Depot," wrote Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on X. She included a link to the Post's article and also wrote that "Musk's business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding.'
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who has previously criticized Musk for benefiting from government funds while working to scale back government, also posted the Post's reporting and highlighted other recent reporting that, in Casar's words, show "Trump & Elon are corrupt."
The Post's analysis notes that the government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits helped "seed the growth" that eventually turned Musk into the world's richest man. The $38 billion is likely an undercount because the analysis does not include classified defense and intelligence work for the government, and an additional 52 ongoing contracts with various agencies are slated to potentially pay Musk's ventures an additional $11.8 billion over the next few years.
The electric vehicle company Tesla in particular, according to the Post, benefited from the government's largesse in its path to profitability.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.