Elon Musk Doesn’t Know Jack About Government
In criticizing the people of the European Union, the head of DOGE reveals that he’s ignorant about government structures and how they work.
In one meme post, the world’s richest man and self-described savior of America reveals that he knows nothing about governing systems.
Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet (that we know of), is probably the second most powerful person in the world today. He heads several large and well-known companies, commands a vast fortune, wields his social media platform—X (formerly Twitter)—like Excalibur, and has the U.S. federal government in a chokehold through his stewardship of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But he doesn’t know a thing about government structures or how government works. And he revealed as much in a single tweet criticizing European countries for forming and operating under the European Union.
The meme, which criticizes the European Union—an organization he views with disdain—reads: “Imagine you love so much being governed that you want a government for your government.”
Either Musk is ignorant, or the people who take that meme at face value are.
So, what kind of people live in a system where their government has a government? Simple answer: Americans.
The U.S. federal system is one of equal sovereignty. The respective states and the federal government have equal rights and power. Under the U.S. Constitution, the states assign certain responsibilities and authority—defense, foreign relations, international trade, the regulation of interstate commerce—to the federal government. The states are responsible for regulating their local jurisdictions within the norms established by the federal system.
Guess what? The European Union is structured similarly, except its 27 member countries have not delegated as much power and authority to its central institutions as a national government would. The EU’s governing bodies, based primarily in Brussels and Strasbourg, oversee trade, monetary policy, and some aspects of foreign affairs.
The EU was born out of the ashes of World War II, beginning as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), a trade agreement between France and Germany. Over time, it evolved into a pan-European economic and political union, coordinating trade policies, foreign relations, and a shared currency—the euro—used by 20 member states. However, individual countries still maintain sovereignty in key areas such as defense and taxation.
These governing systems enable a separation of duties and responsibilities based on proximity. Municipalities know what’s best for their residents. States are best suited to govern the communities within their jurisdictions. And federal or national governments are best positioned to address the collective needs of a nation. This is how the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and nearly every large country around the world operate.
Musk frequently flirts with conspiracy theories, and conspiracy theorists thrive on the idea of an imaginary global cabal pulling the strings of power. They often point to figures like liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros, casting him as a shadowy puppet master who controls politicians and dictates public policy to serve hidden agendas. In this worldview, government is nothing more than a tool for such cabals, manipulated to serve the interests of the elite rather than the public good.
The other side of Musk’s thinking aligns with what President Ronald Reagan said in his 1981 inaugural address: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
To them, governments are everything from puppets to nuisances to impediments. They believe that more government means less freedom. They do not see government as a means of securing “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as stated in the Declaration of Independence, or of promoting the general welfare, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution—a contrast to those who view governance as essential for ensuring stability and prosperity.
In Musk’s worldview, technocrats and innovators — like himself — could accomplish far more if regulators didn’t stand in their way. In the U.S., Musk’s companies—Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, X (formerly Twitter), and Starlink (a division of SpaceX)—have faced dozens of lawsuits and investigations.
Musk sees regulators as roadblocks, slowing down the approval of his innovations, such as self-driving cars and devices to implant computer chips in the human brain. To him, removing regulators is a way to accelerate progress toward some utopian future.
But government exists to protect and enable the people's interests, as defined by their elected representatives. It’s not perfect. It’s often messy. But it serves a purpose.
Musk knows that. Or at least, he should know it.