Elon Musk s unchecked lies could rob Verizon of its FAA contract in favor of the billionaire s Starlink

Get the Full StoryElon Musk continues to wrap himself around the U.S. government and its apparatus, almost like a grotesque, ketamine-addled octopus with tentacles everywhere he can get them. Whenever you see Donald Trump, Musk isn t far behind. The whole world has been treated to many images of Musk strutting about the Oval Office. Thanks to DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk is now deeply embedded within the U.S. state in an official capacity. Except it doesn t stop there, because Musk-owned businesses are in the running to be awarded contracts by the very institutions he is threatening with efficiency cuts. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has already been subjected to DOGE cuts, was blasted by Musk on his social media platform X for its systems that are not working, putting the blame on Verizon. Verizon hit back, saying that they were at the beginning of a contract to overhaul outdated systems that had absolutely nothing to do with them. Musk later corrected his statements. Correction: the ancient system that is rapidly declining in capability was made L3Harris. The new system that is not yet operational is from Verizon. Elon Musk elonmusk February 27, 2025 While Verizon has already been awarded a contract with the FAA, an FAA source speaking to CBS News has said that no decisions have been made regarding a long-term contract. This comes after it was revealed the FAA has been testing Musk-owned Starlink devices as part of its push to upgrade its systems. This is not a great look, especially after Musk s public comments about Verizon and the way he wields DOGE as a weapon. When asked by CBS News about whether Musk s dual role was a conflict of interest, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy didn t think so. I was very conscious of anyone who comes in I don t want to see conflicts of interest. So Musk was talking to air traffic controllers, didn t plug into the system, but looked at the terminals that they use They had a back and forth about what works well for you, what doesn t work well. T hey spoke freely about these are the problems that we have. And so it was nothing about the way that SpaceX uses the airspace. It was about how do controllers do their job. Duffy may be convinced, but others aren t quite so sanguine about the potential for conflicts of interest. Scott Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight a nonpartisan government corruption watchdog was unequivocal about the potential for corruption. You do worry if there is pressure from the top, even from the president himself, to favor his system over the existing system. People could be afraid to lose their jobs and will do whatever they can to please Elon Musk. Even the potential for such corruption is supposed to be avoided, especially at the highest levels of government. Some Democrats are especially worried by the ethical concerns surrounding this, where Musk is expected to enrich himself massively while being a central part of the federal government apparatus especially when there are already laws on the books to prevent other types of government employee or representatives from doing so. How much richer will Elon get with an FAA contract to another one of his companies? My ELON MUSK Act would stop this blatant corruption. https: t.co lr7Gv9Cwg6 Rep. Mark Pocan RepMarkPocan February 25, 2025 Musk is no stranger at all to government handouts. He s something of the ultimate welfare queen, receiving billions of dollars in subsidies for his various businesses. A CNN report suggests that much of Elon s wealth is underpinned by the U.S. government subsidies, investments, loans, and contracts. This is a man whose entire livelihood is deeply, inherently embedded within the government apparatus a man who has also been given unprecedented, sweeping powers within said apparatus. For Musk, this is the ultimate step towards government efficiency : He s cut out the middleman by becoming part of the government himself.

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