Laura Barron-Lopez:
President Trump has said that Musk has free rein to slash spending, as well as the work force.
So, first, with the FAA, they regulate SpaceX. And, last fall, they proposed that SpaceX should be fined with more than $600,000 for licensing violations. The FAA is also currently investigating SpaceX for some safety violations, so, again, potentially damaging some of Musk’s businesses.
Now, with the consumer watchdog, CFPB, Musk has called for its elimination entirely, posting on X: “Rip to CFPB.” And Musk and his team are leading the efforts to dismantle that consumer watchdog. The White House recently ordered for all work to stop there.
So why is this a possible conflict for Musk’s personal interests? Well, for years, Musk has been trying to turn X into an everything app. That includes a digital wallet for people to send money to each other. And that digital wallet known as X Money is expected to launch later this year.
CFPB is the main federal financial regulator of digital payment systems like that. And so Musk’s X Money business would stand to potentially benefit from a weakened CFPB.
