Musk urges US to cut agencies, scale back global influence

Elon Musk, during a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Thursday, called for sweeping changes in U.S. government structures, urging the country to “delete entire agencies” and reassess its foreign policy priorities. His comments echoed his longstanding push for significant cuts to government spending and a restructuring of its priorities under President Trump.

Musk, who appeared in a black “Tech Support” T-shirt, shared his views on the current state of U.S. governance, asserting that bureaucracy, not democracy, was prevailing. “We really have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people,” he remarked, joking that he was the “White House’s tech support” in reference to his profile on the platform X, which he owns.

Musk expanded on his belief that the U.S. government should streamline its agencies, suggesting that “we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” warning that leaving the roots of bureaucracy intact would allow it to regrow. His statements held added significance, as Musk has gained significant influence over the government under Trump’s administration, including leading the Department of Government Efficiency, sidelining career officials, and gaining access to sensitive information.

Alongside his views on domestic policy, Musk touched on U.S. foreign involvement, particularly in the Middle East. With a more isolationist approach, he questioned the effectiveness of U.S. aid efforts, referencing USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy. “How much democracy have they achieved lately?” he asked, before suggesting that the U.S. should “mind its own business” instead of pushing for regime changes around the world.

Musk also expressed concerns over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, linking them to artificial intelligence. “If hypothetically, AI is designed for DEI, you know, diversity at all costs, it could decide that there’s too many men in power and execute them,” Musk warned.

On AI, Musk revealed that his company X’s new chatbot, Grok 3, would be ready in approximately two weeks, calling it “kind of scary.” He also took aim at OpenAI’s leadership under Sam Altman, criticizing it as a deviation from its original nonprofit mission.

In line with his futuristic ambitions, Musk also announced plans for a “Dubai Loop” project, a high-speed tunnel system similar to his Boring Company project in Las Vegas. While details were scarce, Musk promised the system would resemble “a wormhole,” allowing for rapid transit across the city.