1. Vigilante Shit
What is Elon Musk’s role within the federal government?
He is not an elected official. He is not an appointed bureaucrat. He is not even a formal employee. He is a “special government employee” who is acting on the authority of the president of the United States.
But it’s not clear that this is official in any way. The White House spokeswoman said so, but are his title and brief written down on a piece of paper somewhere?1 Has it been filed with a government HR department? Are the terms of the job description in print? Is there a signed employment contract?2
Or are we just doing all of this on a private, verbal say-so?
Regardless, it’s pretty clear what Trump wants Musk to be: a vigilante operating inside the government.
The vigilante occupies a romantic place in the American psyche. We think of Batman.
But Musk isn’t fighting supervillains. He’s running around smashing windows and breaking things. He’s using his vigilante powers to vandalize the Constitution and the federal government.
Of course I’m sure Musk doesn’t see himself as a vandal. He sees himself a member of the League of Shadows.
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