There Is No Place in a Functional Society for Elon Musk

Elon Musk reportedly spent nearly $500 million trying to keep Republicans in control of the federal government in the 2026 midterms, but Democrats won both houses of Congress and numerous state offices. The defeat barely touches Musk’s estimated $860 billion fortune, leaving him able to spend far more in future elections. Nor does the electoral shift undo the damage facing the incoming Congress: Trump remains president, federal institutions and voting rights are under attack, and the country is contending with violence against immigrants, war, the genocide in Palestine, anti-trans policies, high costs, and concentrated media power. The central warning is that one election cannot resolve the threats to ordinary people or democracy.

Musk’s wealth and political influence, combined with his opposition to equality and the rule of law, make him an especially urgent target for democratic accountability. His record includes leading DOGE’s shutdown of USAID, using Starlink to affect the war in Ukraine, Tesla vehicles and self-driving systems linked to deaths, SpaceX rockets leaving hazardous debris, failed Boring Company projects, and turning Twitter into a platform for abuse. The proposed response is to investigate him in Congress, remove his companies’ public subsidies and contracts, break them up, and force him from executive roles. Taking away his capacity to shape elections would protect democracy and warn other billionaires that such concentrated power will not go unchecked.