Elon Musk warned Mars travel will be dangerous.
Video screenshot by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spoke out Monday against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, calling the government’s expenditure “crazy.” Speaking via video link at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, Musk also spoke about the Tesla Cybertruck, SpaceX Starship and Neuralink.
“You can’t just spend $3 trillion more than your earn every year,” Musk said. “If you don’t cut government spending, something really bad’s gonna happen. This is crazy. Our spending is so far in excess of revenue. It’s insane. Like you could zero out all billionaires in the country … you still wouldn’t solve the deficit.”
Speaking from his new Tesla Gigafactory in Texas on what US infrastructure could be improved, Musk pointed to better airports, double-decker highways and a tunnel system for electric vehicles — especially as Tesla works on autonomous driving. “But I don’t see a strong effort in this direction,” he said.
Musk criticized provisions for building an electric vehicle charging network across highways, likening them to the government providing support to build gas stations. “There’s no need for this, for supporting a charging network,” he said. “Delete it. Delete. I’m literally saying get rid of all subsidies.”
On the EV purchase tax credit, Musk pointed out that Tesla stopped getting that “like two years ago,” adding that when it comes to innovation and electric vehicles, the government should act as a referee rather than a player on the field. Musk also said he didn’t see the value in the R&D provisions of the bill, either.
“Generally, I think government should try to get out of the way and not impede progress,” Musk said.
One area where he said government involvement is good is in a strong science program, he added, like a Mars probe.
On his own science programs, Musk said the “preposterously difficult” Starship will be “the difference between humanity being a single-planet species and a multi-planet species” — if it works. He also reiterated that the Neuralink project is working well in monkeys, and he’s hoping to have it in the first humans like quadriplegics and tetraplegics next year, pending FDA approval.
Musk also confirmed Tesla is aiming for Cybertruck volume production in 2023 and that he’ll reveal more during the next earnings call in early 2022. “It may be our best product ever,” he said.