(The Hill) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, said his life was in danger over his heavy involvement in the administration and some may want him dead because he is “stopping their fraud.”
Musk, who was originally tapped by Trump late last year to head up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), told Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that “when you take away people’s … fraud, the money they’re receiving fraudulently, they get very upset, and they basically want to kill me because I’m stopping their fraud.”
He added, “And they want to hurt Tesla because we’re stopping this terrible waste and corruption in the government. And, well, I guess they’re bad people. Bad people do bad things.”
Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa’s $80M estate: Who will inherit it?
DOGE, which has seemingly taken on new leadership, has led the administration’s moves to combat “waste and fraud,” as well as identify abuse among various government programs. The controversial advisory group has also worked with the president to overhaul the federal workforce.
The commission has probed various federal departments and agencies, ranging from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the U.S. Institute of Peace, resulting in firings of thousands of workers and withholding congressionally appropriated funds. DOGE has received heavy pushback from Democrats in Congress and has faced a bevy of legal challenges in court.
Musk said on Tuesday that government fraud is “so high” that it is causing a $2 trillion annual deficit and that he is worried that the U.S. is going bankrupt due to the “corruption of waste.”
“And the cost of our debt has gotten so high that just the interest payments on the debt exceed the entire military budget,” said the tech entrepreneur, who owns six major companies. “And it was just growing out of control. So, the country was going bankrupt.”
“It’s just … a country’s no different from a person,” he continued. “If a country overspends and doesn’t spend wisely, just like a person, a country will go bankrupt.”
Trump will run and win again in 2028: Steve Bannon
He also weighed in on the recent attacks at Tesla dealerships around the globe. The company’s charging stations, car lots and showrooms have been targeted both in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
“It’s really come as quite a shock to me that there is this level of, really, hatred and violence from the left. I always thought that the left, you know, Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they’re burning down cars, firebombing dealerships, they’re firing bullets into dealerships, they’re smashing up Teslas,” Musk told Hannity.
Trump admin expands penalty for migrants found with ‘carpet shoes’
“Tesla is a peaceful company. We’ve never done anything harmful,” he said.
Several Tesla vehicles were set on fire in Las Vegas this week. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is still looking for the suspect. The attacks have also occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, where Cybertrucks at a dealership were damaged, according to the FBI’s field office.
“And I think there are larger forces at work as well. I mean, I don’t know. Who’s funding it and who’s coordinating it? Because this is crazy,” the Tesla and Space X CEO said. “I have never seen anything like this.”
