Elon Musk To WSJ: Gov’t Should Be a Referee, Not a Player On The Field | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Donna Martinez.

    Elon Musk is a fascinating big ideas guy. His big ideas have resulted in thousands upon thousands of jobs, not to mention new technologies that enhance our lives and life experience. In fact, one of my family members works for a firm whose key contract is with SpaceX, Musk's space exploration company. She is a direct beneficiary of one man's dreams, actions, and risk-taking.

    Musk is unconventional for sure, but the more I learn about the man, the more ardent I am that we can learn a lot from him. He's fiercely independent, doesn't shy from competition, dismisses naysayers, and doesn't seem to care what others think of him. We should all take those qualities to heart.

    This week, the Wall Street Journal hosted Musk at its CEO Council Summit. For more than 30 minutes, he talked with host Joanna Stern.

    A key takeaway is his view of federal support for charging stations for electric vehicles, as reported by the newspaper.

    "Honestly, I would just can this whole bill," Mr. Musk said during a virtual appearance at the WSJ's CEO Council Summit, speaking from a factory Tesla is building in the Austin, Texas, area.

    He also said that federal funding for electric-vehicle charging is unnecessary. The infrastructure package that Mr. Biden signed into law in November includes $7.5 billion to expand the nation's network of electric-vehicle charging stations.

    Think about this for a moment: the entrepreneur whose products stand to benefit from a public expenditure doesn't think it's necessary.

    Let that soak in.

    More broadly, how does he see the appropriate role of government? It should be a referee but not a player on the field.

    WATCH

    He Is Spot On.

   

    But what about the EV subsidies? Isn't he being a hypocrite? Musk addressed it. Turns out, he's in favor of eliminating all subsidies - including for oil and gas.

    Fascinating thoughts from a man who does more than just talk. He gets things done, and we're the beneficiaries.