Tech billionaire, Elon Musk, advocated on Thursday for the United States to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of President Trump’s push to dramatically reduce spending and realign its objectives.
Musk offered a wide-ranging survey via a video call to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of what he described as the priorities of the Trump administration interspersed with multiple references to “thermonuclear warfare” and the possible dangers of artificial intelligence.
While Musk has spoken to the summit in the past, his appearance on Thursday comes as he has consolidated control over large swaths of the government with Trump’s blessing since assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency.
That’s included side-lining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and inviting a constitutional clash over the limits of presidential authority.
Musk’s new role imbued his comments with more weight beyond being the world’s wealthiest person through his investments in SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla.
His remarks also offered a more-isolationist view of American power in the Middle East, where the U.S. has fought wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
He added that the U.S. under Trump is “less interested in interfering with the affairs of other countries.”
He also noted the Trump administration’s focus on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion work, at one point linking it to AI.
Musk also announced plans for a “Dubai Loop” project in line with his work in the Boring Company — which is digging tunnels in Las Vegas to speed transit.
A later statement from Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, said the city-state and the Boring Company “will explore the development” of a 17-kilometer (10.5-mile) underground network with 11 stations that could transport over 20,000 passengers an hour. He offered no financial terms for the deal.
“It’s going to be like a wormhole,” Musk promised. “You just wormhole from one part of the city – boom – and you’re out in another part of the city.”
