Musk's comments came during his video call with participants at the World Government Summit in Dubai, in which he also made several references to "thermonuclear war" and the potential risks of artificial intelligence.
Elon Musk has called on the US government to "wipe out entire agencies" as part of his ongoing campaign under the Trump administration to drastically cut government spending and rethink national priorities.
The tech billionaire argued that instead of simply reforming existing agencies, the US government needs a more radical approach. "We should abolish entire agencies," He said. "If we don't remove the root of the problem, it's easy for it to grow again."
Speaking via video at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk also delivered a wide-ranging critique of the current system in the United States, arguing that the US currently favours "rule by bureaucracy" over rule by the people.
"We are ruled by bureaucracy, not by people," Musk said, wearing a black T-shirt that read 'Tech Support'.
"There has been a huge amount of over-regulation over time, and that's an inevitable consequence of a long period of prosperity, that you're going to have more and more rules and regulations, and over time you're going to accumulate more laws. And the normal function of the course for getting rid of rules and regulations is war, and it has to be some kind of existential war where you have to do a reset to avoid being defeated in the war," He said.
A more isolationist approach to foreign policy
Musk pointed to efforts like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy, which have seen significant cuts under Trump. He questioned their impact, noting: "How much have democracies really achieved lately?".
His speech also revealed a more isolationist approach to US foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, where the US has been deeply involved in conflicts since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He stated that the US under Trump's leadership has become "less interested in interfering in the affairs of other countries".
While Musk had spoken at the summit earlier, his comments on Thursday carried additional weight as he has recently gained considerable influence over US government policy, particularly through his new position in the Government Efficiency Division.
This has sidelined career civil servants, given them access to sensitive government data and raised questions about the limits of presidential powers.
Musk also addressed the Trump administration's stance on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, linking them to artificial intelligence in a hypothetical scenario. He warned that if AI were programmed with DEI in mind, it could theoretically make drastic decisions, such as eliminating men from positions of power.
Moving on to the AI itself, Musk spoke about the upcoming launch of X's new AI chatbot, Grok 3, which he described as "exciting" and "a little scary". He also criticized the direction of OpenAI under Sam Altman's leadership, comparing it to an environmental non-profit turning into a logging company.
Musk also unveiled plans for a new transportation project in Dubai, which is in line with his Boring Company's tunnel system in Las Vegas and aims to speed up the city's traffic. However, specific details of the project, dubbed the "Dubai Loop," were not disclosed, although Musk promised that it will resemble traveling through a "wormhole" and allow passengers to quickly move between different parts of the city.
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
PHOTO - X Elon Musk
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