Elon Musk argued in recent remarks that “government is simply the biggest corporation, with the monopoly on violence.”
Musk — who serves as chief executive of both Tesla and SpaceX — made the remarks during The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit, where he also slammed President Biden’s domestic agenda.
“It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill in capital allocation, and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government,” he commented.
“Government is simply the biggest corporation, with the monopoly on violence.”
Earlier in the summit, Musk explained that the Senate should not pass the Build Back Better Act. The $1.75 trillion legislation — which the House of Representatives has already passed — would expand various social programs, including universal preschool, childcare subsidies, and climate change initiatives.
“I would say can this bill, don’t pass it. That’s my recommendation,” argued Musk during the CEO Council Summit. “If this bill happens or doesn’t happen, we don’t think about it at all really. Honestly it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk also disapproved of President Joe Biden’s approach to China: “There are a lot of people in the government in China who kind of grew up … with China being a small economy and maybe who feel like China was pushed around a lot. They haven’t fully appreciated the fact that China really is going to be the big kid on the block.” He noted, however, that Tesla has a positive relationship with China.
Musk added that new federal backing of the electric vehicle industry — namely, by increasing the electric vehicle tax credit from $7,500 to $12,500 and building charging stations across the country — is unnecessary.
“Do we need support for gas stations? We don’t,” he said. “Delete it.”
In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) — the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which charts the course for taxes and other fiscal policy measures — slammed the electric vehicle tax credit as a boon for high earners.
“Under this bill, a family making $800,000 per year is eligible for a $12,500 check to buy a luxury electric vehicle with up to a $74,000 price tag,” noted Brady. “That check they’re getting will be paid for by the maid who comes to clean their house. It’s a stunning giveaway to the wealthy.”
The Congressional Budget Office — the federal government’s nonpartisan fiscal scorekeeper — said that the Build Back Better Act would add $367 billion to the deficit by 2031, not considering a potential $207 billion windfall arising from harsh tax enforcement efforts.
Likewise, a report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget suggests that the true cost of the bill maybe $4.9 trillion due to a number of “arbitrary sunsets and expirations.”
For instance, the legislation would extend the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit increase and Earned Income Tax Credit expansion for a year, set universal pre-K and child care subsidies to expire after six years, make Affordable Care Act expansions available through 2025, and delay the requirement that businesses amortize research and experimentation costs until 2026.