Elon Musk

Elon Musk: Controversies and Biography (2025 Update)

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been embroiled in numerous controversies, especially since taking the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump in 2025. Below are the key issues that have defined his contentious tenure:

  • Control Over Treasury Payments – By February 5, 2025, Musk gained access to U.S. Treasury payment systems, halting $1.8 billion in disbursements flagged as “wasteful” (Reuters, Web ID: 2). Critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, call it a “technocratic coup,” arguing it sidelines civil servants and hands an unelected billionaire unchecked power (Web ID: 7). DOGE claims it’s saved $500M, but no audit backs this (X Post ID: 7).
  • Lack of Transparency and Accountability – DOGE’s operations, led by Musk and a team of young Silicon Valley recruits dubbed “Doge Kids,” lack public oversight. By February 28, they’d accessed 15 agencies’ IT systems (ABC News, Web ID: 6), sidelining careerists. Musk’s SpaceX Pentagon contracts ($3.1B in 2024) fuel conflict-of-interest fears, with Public Citizen suing over ethics breaches (Web ID: 15).
  • Rehiring of Controversial Employee – On February 23, Musk polled X to rehire Marko Elez, a DOGE coder who quit after racist tweets surfaced (e.g., “DEI kills merit,” 2024). With 68% approval (X Post ID: 2), Elez returned March 1, backed by VP JD Vance and Trump. Critics like Rep. Jamie Raskin slammed it as “normalizing hate” in government (Web ID: 3).
  • Acquisition of Twitter – Musk’s $44B Twitter buyout in October 2022 remains divisive. By 2025, X’s value sits at $19B (Fidelity), with critics citing hate speech spikes post-80% staff cuts (Web ID: 19). Supporters argue it’s a free speech win, amplifying DOGE’s reach (X Post ID: 4).
  • Gesture Controversy – On January 25, 2025, Musk raised his fist at a Mar-a-Lago rally, a move some called a “fascist salute” (NPR, Web ID: 17). EU parties (e.g., Germany’s SPD) urged travel bans, while neo-Nazi X accounts praised it (Post ID: 0). Musk called it a “power gesture,” not ideology (X Post ID: 1).

Elon Musk – Biography

Basic Information

Full Name: Elon Reeve Musk
Born: June 28, 1971 (age 53) in Pretoria, South Africa
Nationality: South African, Canadian, American
Current Role: Senior Advisor, DOGE (since January 20, 2025); CEO, Tesla/SpaceX/X Corp
Education: Queen’s University (no degree), University of Pennsylvania (B.S. Physics, B.A. Economics, 1997)
Spouse: Divorced (Justine Wilson, Talulah Riley); Partner: Grimes (intermittent)
Children: 11

Early Life and Education

Born in Pretoria to engineer Errol and model Maye Musk, Elon taught himself coding by age 10. He moved to Canada at 17, attending Queen’s University, then transferred to Penn, earning dual degrees in 1997. A self-described “nerd,” he briefly started a Ph.D. at Stanford but left for tech ventures.

Career Milestones

Zip2 and PayPal: Musk co-founded Zip2 (sold for $307M, 1999) and X.com, which merged into PayPal (sold to eBay, $1.5B, 2002), netting him $165M.
SpaceX: Founded in 2002, SpaceX cut launch costs, landing $19B in contracts by 2025 (Web ID: 11).
Tesla: Joined in 2004, Musk drove Tesla to a $1T valuation by 2025, despite Autopilot probes (Web ID: 14).
Twitter/X: Acquired in 2022, rebranded X Corp, now a DOGE megaphone.

Political Involvement

Musk’s Trump support grew in 2024, donating $250M+ to his campaign (Web ID: 0). Named DOGE head on November 13, 2024, with Vivek Ramaswamy, he’s pushed a $2T budget cut goal (Web ID: 4), though analysts call it unfeasible without slashing Social Security (Web ID: 13).

Recent Developments

Sworn in January 20, 2025, Musk’s DOGE has axed 12,000 federal jobs and 1,200 contracts by March 5 (Web ID: 6). His March 7 Cabinet push for agency heads to “cut or be cut” (Web ID: 7) aligns with Trump’s March 4 State of the Union praise (Web ID: 0). X cheers savings (Post ID: 4), but lawsuits pile up (Web ID: 2).

Personal Life

Musk has 11 kids with three women: Justine Wilson (2000–2008), Talulah Riley (2010–2016, intermittent), and Grimes (2018–2022, ongoing). A naturalized U.S. citizen since 2002, he lives in Texas, per Forbes the world’s richest at $421B (March 2025).