Musk pointed to excessive government spending as an inflationary driver.
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk proposes joining a "government efficiency commission" to address US inflation.
- Musk links government overspending directly to rising inflation and national debt.
Elon Musk volunteered to assist a prospective “government efficiency commission” aimed at reducing US government overspending during a live discussion with Donald Trump on Monday. The X’s owner said excessive government spending drives inflation and called for an urgent need for spending cuts to stabilize the economy.
“Inflation comes from government overspending because the checks never bounce when it’s written by the government,” Musk stated. “So if the government spends far more than it brings in, that increases the money supply, and if the money supply increases faster than the rate of goods and services, that’s inflation.”
It was not Musk’s first mention of the “government efficiency commission.” In a recent Lex Fridman Podcast episode, he said he had discussed with Trump that idea and “would be willing” to join the new commission.
Musk also noted the daily increase in national debt due to government overspending, which he believes fuels inflation. Inflation, he explained, is also a tax on people. Trump supported Musk’s views, noting that inflation severely affects those who earn, save, and do not invest.
However, the former US President did not directly target spending cuts. Instead, Trump pointed out the sharp increase in energy costs. He said lowering energy prices would be necessary to alleviate some of the economic pressures faced by Americans.
The conversation was not solely about the US economy. The two figures also discussed the recent attack targeting Trump, illegal immigration, geopolitical tensions, artificial intelligence (AI), and the environment.
Trump highlighted the growing energy demands of AI, predicting that it will eventually require twice the amount of energy currently generated. To meet this demand, Trump stressed the importance of increasing the nation’s energy production.
There was a high expectation among crypto community members that Trump would mention “Bitcoin” during his talk with Musk. On Polymarket, bettors assigned a 65% probability to the mention of “crypto” and a peak of 69% for “Bitcoin,” with substantial amounts staked on these predictions.
Despite this anticipation, there was no discussion of crypto or Bitcoin during the event.
