Elon Musk dubbed Rep. Ro Khanna 'Ro the Robber' and backed calls for his arrest. This escalates a feud over spending cuts at the Department of Government of Efficiency (DOGE), after Khanna called for an investigation into the Tesla CEO.
Musk Brands Congressman 'Ro the Robber' in Escalating Feud
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Monday (local time) escalated his feud with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, branding him as "Ro the robber" and appearing to endorse calls for action against the Californian representative after Khanna argued that Musk should face accountability and investigation over spending cuts carried out under the Department of Government of Efficiency (DOGE). The exchange began as Musk responded to various X posts on the ongoing issue.
The Tesla CEO said, "Ro the Robber" in response to a post on X which accused that "Ro is the number one stock trader in Congress. Last year, he reported 4,300 trades with 59 million in total trade volume. He also recently purchased a USD 9.5 million home in the DC area." https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2069089477511790812
Musk later replied "Yes" to a post on X by user DogeDesigner, which said, "BREAKING: Elon Musk calls for the arrest of Ro 'the Robber' Khanna." https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2069105454030934321
The DogeDesigner post further argued that the "US Department of Justice announced that a USAID official and several executives pleaded guilty in a bribery scheme involving more than USD 550 million in contracts," while Khanna was demanding scrutiny of Musk over DOGE spending cuts. The post added, "Yet Ro Khanna is claiming Elon should be investigated over DOGE spending cuts. The standard applied by DOGE was very simple: if taxpayer money is being sent as aid, there should be a way to verify who received it and make sure the money isn't being stolen or misused. The DOJ is uncovering corruption connected to USAID contracts, Ro Khanna is attacking the person who pushed for transparency."
Khanna's Podcast Comments Spark Feud
The social media clash follows comments made by Ro Khanna on the "I've Had it" podcast. According to the New York Post, the California Democrat said that Musk should face scrutiny over the impact of USAID cuts. "I do believe once we take power, there needs to be accountability," Khanna said, according to the New York Post. "There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk. You know, they're celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires, but they don't talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID," he added.
Khanna added, "He needs to answer for that. He needs to be subpoenaed. He needs to face an investigation. He needs to answer for what he did with DOGE [Department of Government of Efficiency]."
Podcast host Jennifer Welch also backed the idea of investigating Musk, saying, "I love that we need to keep pushing the talking point that you just had that we don't need to celebrate Elon Musk making other people millionaires. If you are the party of pro-life, like you say you are, MAGA, he's killing millions of the poorest people on the planet," Welch added. "So I think that hypocrisy there is really stunning."
Musk Refutes Allegations as 'Total Lie'
Right after Khanna's call for an investigation, Musk fired back in a post on X on June 22, calling the allegations "a total lie", while responding to an X post by another account. "Absolutely. This is a total lie. All DOGE did was require contact with the aid recipients to confirm that funds were being used legitimately. Anything less than this is insane! Multiple people from USAID have been charged by the Justice Department with stealing money. Moreover, they pled GUILTY!!," Musk wrote, replying to a post.
Feud Intersects with Wealth Tax Debate
The New York Post reported that criticism of Musk intensified after the entrepreneur's wealth surged following a record-breaking SpaceX IPO earlier this month. The news report also noted that Khanna has also encouraged a massive new tax proposal called the 'Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,' a proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders imposing a 5 per cent annual wealth tax on assets above USD 1 billion.
Defending the proposal, Khanna said in a March press release cited by the New York Post, "We have a deep economic divide in this country. On one side, places like Silicon Valley are generating extreme wealth. On the other side, families are struggling to cover the cost of health care, housing, and basic needs. We can tax billionaires a modest amount to make sure everyone has a fair chance while keeping our innovative engine."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)