Is Elon Musk's power a problem?
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
Elon Musk has influenced multiple groups of people to vote for certain parties, even in other countries, by bribing them. He is the richest man in the world and has a lot of influence on the people. That raises the question if Elon Musk’s power is a problem.
In my opinion Elon Musk’s power is a problem because he has power and influence in multiple aspects and because of that it’s hard to take or limit his power.
It’s known worldwide that Elon is the richest man in the world which means he can do everything he wants. That means that he can make good or bad decisions. From bribing people to donating to charity. For example, before the 2024 elections in America Elon Musk promised to give one million dollars each day to a random person who voted for Trump. This proves that his influence through money can be dangerous.
Another argument for my position is that Elon Musk has a lot of influence on social media because he bought twitter. He himself knows that and uses that to his advantage. This can be proven by whenever he posts, it doesn't matter if you follow Elon or not, his message is the first one to pop up when you open X. That way he can post anything he wants and influence people. An example for that is that Elon once said negative things about a refugee charity which resulted in the charity getting bad comments and threads. In Germany he also tried to influence the people to vote for a right winged party called “AfD”. This shows that his influence is worldwide and not only in America.
One might say that he created and owns a lot of companies and that he made space travel easier, but you must consider the fact that he is still too powerful by being able to influence many aspects. He can also directly influence the politics in America because he is a “special government employee" and he can influence Trump.
To sum up, Elon Musk is very powerful, because he has the ability to influence people with social media, money, and in the political aspect. This power is very hard to take away which makes his power a problem because he can do everything he wants. He can take good or bad decisions. He might be the richest but not the best person.
Comments (4)
Imagine this: a billionaire tech wizard, zipping between Mars plans and meme posts, who could sway elections with a tap of his "money wand". Meet Elon Musk: part genius, part meme lord, all power player. But when one person holds the purse strings and the X (Twitter) algorithm, should we cheer, or side-eye?
Elon's wallet is big, it's "buy-a-country" big (seriously, his personal net worth is worth more than some countries entire GDPs). Imagine if he promised a million USD daily yo random Trump voters (it's a fictional scenario, but just hang on with me). Sure, he's donated to charities but what's to say cash wouldn't incentivize democracy like a SpaceX rocket nudges asteroids, money talks but should it campaign.
Owning X isn't just a simple flex, it's an entire superpower. Elon's tweets blast to the top like unskippable ADs, whether you follow him or not. One critique of a refugee charity, cure a hate mob, a pro-AfD post in Germany. Suddenly, fringe politics begin trending. His feed is an entire vortex, not just a simple case of "viral".
As a "special government employee", Elon's whispers might sway politics or presidents. Sure, he's pals with Trump but should a CEO moonlight as a government DJ, remixing votes with private chats and SpaceX contracts?
And while he is advancing humanity. Electric cars, brain chips, Mars just to name a few. But here's the truth: even superheroes need checks. Imagine if Iron Man owned all the suits, the news and the government.
After all, shouldn't the future be a team effort, rather than a one-man show?
Yes, Elon Musk power is a problem and a very big one.His power is getting in the way of politics, social media, and in general influence from not only country wise in world wise.He's rigged elections allegedly, he's threatened and taken things away from Ukraine during the war that made them feel like they absolutely depended on them.Also he's not only influenced social media he's also taken over one of the highest platforms used twitter (X).And the fact that he is able to control all 3 of these factors which are money, politics, and influence shows that there needs to be a limit on his power.
I agree that Elon Musk's power is a big issue, but I think the real problem isn't just that he has power , it's about how he uses it. Being rich and influential isn't necessarily bad , but when someone uses their money and platform to manipulate politics or control public opinions , it becomes dangerous.
The concern about Musk influencing elections is definitely valid. If billionaires can shift political results in their favor, then democracy itself is at risk. But I also think that this isn't just about Musk, it's a much bigger issue with money in politics. Many rich people and big companies do the same thing through donations. What makes Musk different is that he owns X , which gives him even more control over what people see and think. This is a serious problem because it means his opinions can shape global politics without much opposition.
But his contributions to technology can't be ignored. He has done a lot for space travel , AI and electric cars. But at the same time this doesn't mean that he should have unlimited power over politics or social media. Instead of trying to take away his power completely , I think there should be stricter rules to stop billionaires , Musk or anyone else from having too much influence over elections and public opinions.
In the end , Musk is just one example of a bigger issue that is how billionaires can control politics and media without any real limits. No one person should have that much power , no matter how successful and rich they are.
From my point of view, we may think it is the first time something like this happens (a person having so much power all around the world), probably because nowadays many people have access to social media. It is true there are unprecedented things going on, a person been able to talk to millions of people from all over the world with just one click at an instant and be able to hear what someone from the opposite part of the world thinks about any topic is just incredible. However, is it really the first time a powerful person mingles in politics and all different kinds of topics and tries to convince people about things by using all the resources available? I believe it is not the first time. Take for example, Bill Gates (a person who got to be the richest man for a long time and then invested a lot of money and time into different political or activist causes), Bloomberg (a businessman who became mayor of New York), the Koch brothers (who participated also in politics with their fortunes) or Rupert Murdoch (another businessman who owns news outlets from different countries and could probably control what millions of people read, see or hear). There has always been a rich person exerting influence through their money. Even at this moment, president Donald Trump, was first a businessman which gained a lot of power and influence. When Trump wanted to become the republican nominee for president many laughed but at the end he was able to reach the presidency. This is the importance of power and money and how it isn't the first time we acknowledge it.