Why did the world's wealthiest man spend millions to elect Donald Trump, and why has he turned a squad of young men with nicknames like "Big Balls" loose on the federal government's computer systems? Trump/Musk's answer: he's saving billions of dollars for American taxpayers. The more likely answer: there are billions of dollars to be made for himself and his fellow Broligarchs by taking over these systems in the name of efficiency. Musk and many Broligarchs adhere to an obscure but increasingly influential far-right Neoreaction Movement that some call the "Dark Enlightenment." Among other things, it openly promotes dictatorships as superior to democracies and views nations like the United States as outdated software systems. [Its influential theorist] Curtis Yarvin seeks to reengineer governments by breaking them up into smaller entities called "patchworks," which would be controlled by tech corporations.

https://newrepublic.com/article/183971/jd-vance-weird-terrifying-techno-authoritarian-ideas

As reported by the NYT, Musk told Trumpworld that if had the right passwords "he would make the government fit and trim....A month into Mr. Trump's second term, Mr. Musk and his crew...have about all the passwords they could ever need."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/us/politics/musk-federal-bureaucracy-takeover.html?smid=em-share

Those passwords permit astounding personal enrichment

1. Getting federal authorities off his back. Robert Reich's recent newsletter includes a long list of the ways that Musk's governmental takeover allows him to neutralize federal efforts to investigate and penalize illegalities by his businesses.

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/fire-the-muskrat-now

2. Access to confidential information about competitors. Musk has long dreamed of emulating Chinese tech lords by adding a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments services to Twitter/X. According to Muskwatch, he now has access to "information about the systems and processes [competitors] use".

https://www.muskwatch.com/

Senator Warren has raised a related concern: access to "information disclosed in export license applications from companies that compete directly with Mr. Musk's businesses."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/24/us/trump-musk-news/warren-raises-concerns-about-doges-ability-to-access-sensitive-commerce-data?smid=url-share

3. He's close to getting control of a $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control capacity originally awarded to Verizon. https://www.muskwatch.com/p/what-did-musk-get-done-last-week

What's next? Musk is defying multiple court orders to cease his takeover. Social Security may be next on his hit list. He's called it "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," and has already told the agency it faces massive cuts.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-social-security-ponzi-scheme_n_67c337cce4b049364f4586a3