Elon Musk owns the country’s most successful electric carmaker, Tesla. His SpaceX rocket company is one of NASA’s largest contractors, relied upon to service the International Space Station. His social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, dominates public discourse.
Now, after spending more than $200 million to help reelect Donald Trump, the world’s richest man has ensconced himself in the White House at the president’s side. He is serving as a policy adviser while his Department of Government Efficiency, popularly known as DOGE, scours the federal bureaucracy for $1 trillion in savings.
But Musk’s growing involvement in federal affairs has raised questions about potential conflicts with his own companies, including SpaceX, which holds billions of dollars in federal contracts.
DOGE has laid off thousands of federal employees, while Trump has fired or replaced Biden-era officials - including more than a dozen inspectors general - as multiple agencies, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have been regulating or investigating Musk’s companies.
“I think the overall goals of Donald Trump and Elon Musk are to slash regulations, to slash budgets and to cut positions all with this claim they are going to increase efficiency and fight fraud,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer rights group that published a report this month.
The group calculated that the administration halted or moved to dismiss investigations against 89 corporations, including Musk’s companies, across multiple federal agencies.
“I would say it’s a smoke screen and cover for personal profit and corporate power - and that’s where Musk’s personal conflicts of interest come into play, as well as the other corporate actors across this government,” Gilbert added.
The Times reviewed the potential conflicts facing Musk and his companies raised by Democratic members of Congress - including a letter to Trump and a report by the House Judiciary Committee - as well as by critics such as Public Citizen.
Musk did not respond to messages seeking comment, but in a joint Fox News interview with Trump last month, he said: “I’ll recuse myself if it is a conflict,” while the president said, “He won’t be involved.”
Here is a select list of a dozen agencies and the high-level political appointees either fired or replaced by Trump since taking office Jan. 20, and their oversight of Musk’s various businesses.
National Labor Relations Board
Gwynne Wilcox, chair
Trump fired Wilcox, a Biden appointee, on Jan. 27 from the agency that enforces private-sector employees’ rights to take collective action and unionize. The termination was overturned by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who wrote, “An American President is not a king - not even an ‘elected’ one - and his power to remove federal officers and honest civil servants like plaintiff is not absolute.” Trump has appealed the ruling.
The NLRB has filed multiple cases against Musk’s companies, including one that accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees in 2022 over an open letter their attorneys said protested “inappropriate, disparaging, sexually charged comments on Twitter” he made on the platform. Those cases are ongoing, and the agency lists 14 open unfair labor practice cases against Tesla.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Jocelyn Samuels, Charlotte Burrows, commissioners; Karla Gilbride, general counsel
Samuels, Burrows and Gilbride were fired by Trump in late January from the commission that enforces employees’ legal rights. The EEOC sued Tesla in 2023 for allegedly tolerating widespread racial harassment of Black employees at its Fremont, California, factory, including slurs and graffiti such as the N-word and nooses placed in various locations. The lawsuit is pending.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Erik Soskin, inspector general
Soskin was among 17 inspectors general who were fired by Trump on Jan. 24. He had been appointed by Trump during his first administration.
Earlier in the month, the department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after more than a dozen reported crashes involving the company’s Actually Smart Summon mobile app, which allows drivers to control their vehicles remotely. The NHTSA also has an open probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology after reports of four crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.
Federal Aviation Administration
Michael Whitaker, administrator
Whitaker resigned on Jan. 20, despite his term running through 2028, following Musk’s public call for his resignation and for “radical reform” at the FAA. Musk had criticized the agency for fining SpaceX $633,000 in September over alleged license violations during two Florida rocket launches. That case remains open.
The FAA is currently reviewing SpaceX’s request to increase the number of Super Heavy and Starship launches at its Texas site. Environmentalists have opposed the proposal, citing damage to nearby habitats and wildlife from past launches.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Bill Nelson, administrator
Nelson stepped down on Jan. 20. His replacement, tech billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman, is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Isaacman has flown on two private SpaceX Crew Dragon missions and is reportedly an investor in SpaceX.
Musk has urged the agency to retire the International Space Station early to focus on a Mars mission using SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Democratic legislators have also raised concerns about DOGE’s involvement in agency cost-cutting, including plans to close two offices that provide advice on NASA science and strategies. SpaceX is one of NASA’s largest contractors.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Rohit Chopra, director
Chopra was fired on Feb. 1 from the agency that protects consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices by financial firms. His temporary replacement, Russell Vought, Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, immediately rolled back oversight and dismissed several lawsuits, including one accusing three major banks of enabling fraud on the Zelle payment app.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced in January that Musk’s platform will launch X Money Account, a payments app in partnership with Visa. It will allow X users to make peer-to-peer payments to rival Zelle and Venmo. Musk posted on X, “Delete CFPB,” calling it a duplicative agency.
Federal Election Commission
Ellen Weintraub, chair
Trump fired Weintraub from the FEC, which oversees campaign finance laws. Weintraub argued her removal was illegal, and Democratic senators demanded Trump rescind it.
Last year, Public Citizen filed a complaint alleging Musk’s America PAC may have violated campaign finance laws. The PAC had pledged to award $1 million daily to registered voters in seven swing states who signed a petition to “support the constitution.” Musk ultimately donated at least $200 million to Trump’s campaign.
Department of Justice
Merrick Garland, attorney general
Garland left office with Biden and was replaced by Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general and Trump’s defense lawyer during his first impeachment trial. Last month, the DOJ dismissed a lawsuit it had filed against SpaceX for allegedly discouraging asylees and refugees from applying for jobs based on citizenship status.
This month, Bondi called attacks on Tesla vehicles, charging stations and a dealership “domestic terrorism,” following Musk’s involvement in federal layoffs. The department filed charges against three unnamed suspects, with penalties of up to 20 years in prison. Critics questioned the use of “terrorism,” given Trump’s pardons and commutations of more than 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Gary Gensler, chair
Gensler ended his term on Jan. 20 and was replaced by Paul Atkins, who is awaiting Senate confirmation. Just before stepping down, the SEC filed a complaint accusing Musk of failing to timely disclose his 2022 acquisition of a 5% Twitter stake.
The agency said Musk saved $150 million by keeping investors unaware as he built his stake in the company he later acquired and renamed X. Musk dismissed the suit. Under DOGE pressure, the SEC reportedly offered employees $50,000 to resign or retire, which critics say weakens enforcement.
U.S. Department of Defense
Robert Storch, inspector general
Storch was among the inspectors general Trump dismissed. Two Democratic senators in November called on him to review whether Musk should be excluded from defense and intelligence contracts after reports of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia denied the talks, and in 2022, Musk said he had spoken with Putin only once about space, according to the Associated Press.
This month, the New York Times reported Musk would be briefed on U.S. contingency plans for China, where Tesla operates. Musk met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Trump said the meeting focused on cutting department costs, per the Associated Press.
Food and Drug Administration
Robert Califf, commissioner
Califf stepped down Jan. 20 from the agency that reviews the safety of food, drugs and medical devices. His replacement, Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary - known for criticizing the government’s COVID-19 response - is awaiting confirmation.
Reuters reported DOGE cuts eliminated staff overseeing Neuralink, Musk’s company testing a brain implant for paralyzed individuals to control computers. The agency, now run by an acting commissioner, is reportedly trying to rehire some staff.
Environmental Protection Agency
Sean O’Donnell, inspector general
O’Donnell was one of the inspectors general fired by Trump. Musk’s companies have faced multiple environmental violations. Tesla paid $1.5 million to settle allegations brought by 25 California district attorneys over illegal hazardous waste disposal at its service and energy centers, as well as its Fremont factory.
On Jan. 15, SpaceX agreed to pay a $148,378 EPA fine after it allegedly discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of water used to cool its Texas launch pad into nearby wetlands. The company neither admitted nor denied the allegations.