Last updated on April 10, 2025
Congressmen Stephen Lynch (MA-8) called out Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest as “his DOGE lackeys gut and terminate vital programs and services” while Musk and his companies receive $38 billion in contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits from federal and state governments.
As ranking member of Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Lynch and Congressman Gerald Connolly (VA-11th) sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) Acting General Counsel Charles Young III requesting documents, information, and answers as to how DOD is ensuring Elon Musk is not using his position to enrich himself or his companies in violation of federal ethics rules.
“At DOD, where Mr. Musk’s companies have benefitted from contracts, been under investigation, and are angling for vast amounts of new business, his control of DOD operations and defiance of recusal laws directly benefit his businesses,” wrote the Members. “The known conflicts of interest presented by this arrangement are illegal and must be addressed immediately.”
Ethics laws prevent political appointees, including special government agents like Musk, from taking part in any matter that might impact their personal finances.
Listed financial benefits to Musk’s companies from DOD include, some that have come very recently:
- SpaceX, its affiliated satellite internet service, Starlink, and Tesla, have enjoyed $13.5 billion in federal benefits from DOD since 2003. This includes at least $9.5 billion in direct contract funds Musk’s companies have received from DOD.
- On April 4, 2025, SpaceX was awarded a $5.9 billion contract to support U.S. Space Force rocket launches and satellite operations through 2029.
- SpaceX secured a $102 million Air Force contract to study how SpaceX rockets could deliver cargo across the globe.
In their letter, Lynch and Connolly pointed out that prior to Trump’s second administration, DOD’s Office of Inspector General, the Air Force, and the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security all initiated separate reviews of whether Musk and his company SpaceX repeatedly failed to comply with requirements for reporting the details of meetings with foreign leaders. The DOD Inspector General was fired by President Trump shortly after he took office and it is unclear if the office is still conducting those reviews.
Click here to read the letter.
