In what could be the successful purchase of potential White House influence, tech mogul Elon Musk has revealed that he is already discussing with Donald Trump the creation of a deregulation "commission" that would shrink federal policing of businesses if Trump is elected president.
And he's eying a role for himself on what he labels "expediency commission," he said last week on the "Lex Fridman Podcast."
"I have discussed with Trump the idea of a government efficiency commission. And I would be willing to be part of that commission," Musk said.
He complained in the podcast about regulations restricting industry as "being tied down by a million strings like Gulliver." He added: "There has to be a garbage collection of laws and regulations."
Musk revealed the discussions when Fridman, a computer scientist podcaster, told him: "I wish you could go into Washington for a week and be the head of the committee for making government smaller."
Musk warned that establishing such a commission would be opposed by "The Matrix," apparently his term for the mythical "Deep State" conspiracy, as opposed to Americans who want consumer protections.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that Trump was considering some "advisory role" in his White House for Musk if he is elected.
Musk has endorsed Trump for the presidency, and announced last month that he had donated a "sizeable amount" of money to the America Political Action Committee he supports to back Trump, even though he acknowledges that billionaires put a "thumb on the scale" of American elections when wielding their significant resources.
Trump said at a recent rally that Musk was giving him $45 million a month — which Musk has since denied — so he's got to keep him happy.
Michigan officials have launched an investigation into the America PAC backed by Musk following reports that the tech mogul was collecting detailed information about swing-state residents who attempted to register to vote through its website.
Such an investigation could be the kind of probe blocked by Musk's planned commission.
Musk discusses his scheme with Trump in the podcast below beginning at 1:16:00.
