[Politics] Why is Elon Musk becoming Donald Trump's efficiency tsar?

[Aronus]

Billionaire Elon Musk has been tasked with leading incoming President Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

In a statement on social media, the US president-elect said Musk - along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy - would "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies".

It is a role that the tech entrepreneur has arguably prepared for through his business leadership, and one he has spent months arguing for.

But it is also one that is expected to garner him influence over government policy - and the regulatory environment his enterprises exist in.

Musk told a Trump rally in October that he believed the US government's budget could be cut by "at least" $2tn from around $6.5tn. He has also frequently suggested the number of government employees could be significantly reduced.

Ramaswamy, meanwhile, has put forward plans to scrap a number of federal departments including the Department of Education, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.

 

Why is Elon Musk becoming Donald Trump's efficiency adviser?