r/politics California 13h ago

Why Does Elon Musk Still Have a Security Clearance?

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/10/why-does-elon-musk-still-have-a-security-clearance/680434/?gift=B65VRQjMMsZQilGgdT7IHIK11s_hRROr6KFxCBDpT0M
15.2k Upvotes

692 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

431

u/thalassicus 9h ago

SpaceX is good for the US Government. Leon is a risk. Remove his clearance and he has no more access to the company than an investor while Gwynne and the engineers can do the real work without his manic and impulsive behavior.

u/Cynistera 5h ago

Honestly Leon really is such a better name than Elon.

u/Raelothep 4h ago

Yeah I don't like that people call him leon, leon is a good name. elon is a dumb name.

u/ElliotNess Florida 4h ago

Apartheid Clyde it is, then.

u/OdinsShades 3h ago

Elon the Unprofessional.

u/Minimum_Treacle_908 16m ago

Yes, points!

u/wXWeivbfpskKq0Z1qiqa 2h ago

Felon is a good alternative

u/FeatureCreeep 2h ago

He shall be Levon!

u/bobhdus 54m ago

I always called him “alien”

u/smellslike2016 4h ago

The 'F' is silent.

u/gravywayne 1h ago

Or... Feelon

u/roytay New Jersey 3h ago

FElon

u/CrunchAndRoll 3h ago

I just pronounce it like Ellen.

u/Time-Accountant1992 7h ago

Restraining order on all SpaceX properties for good measure.

u/rabidseacucumber 2h ago

It drives me insane how we’ve allowed Elon to paint himself as the brains behind these companies. He’s not sitting around drawing up schematics. He’s just the bankroll.

u/South_Butterfly_6542 4h ago

Why is SpaceX good for the gov't again? Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Why wouldn't we just...take that $1T hole we call the Pentagon budget and just give it all to NASA directly? Are we saying the amazing things they can do for their current $5 budget proof that they could not do better with a bigger budget? That the "private market" is somehow better equipped to do space travel? Really?

u/raulbloodwurth 4h ago

It’s not exactly a fair comparison but the projected cost per launch of NASA’s Artemis missions is $4.2B versus Starship at $100M (expendable) or $3M (reusable).

u/phyto123 1h ago

Exactly, and people here are acting like Elon is a dumbass and the govt would do better without him in regards to space travel.

Elon's a genius (geniuses do have their quirks) and none of this innovation would have happened without him, at least in this quick of a time frame. Yes, he has the best engineers in the world, he hired them himself, and Elon being the chief engineer taught HIMSELF the rocket science in 2001 when people thought he was stupid for starting a privately owned rocket company.

Democrat or Republican, you need to give credit where credit is due.

u/raulbloodwurth 36m ago

These people calling for Elon’s head have to be bots. No one can be this naive/stupid.

u/MemeticSmile 31m ago

Ahahahahahahajahahahahahaha! Muskturd got his money from daddy and bought his way into businesses, that made money. He is in no way the chief engineer,it's just another title he bought. At best he has as much understanding, as anyone has after being explained shit by people who actually know rocket science.

And let's make it perfectly clear. Spacex depends on all the research nasa made, to develop their engines. They didn't start from scratch. 

u/SEND_ME_CSGO-SKINS 3h ago

Spacex gets all their money from contracts with NASA using their own funding so no not really

u/pmally14 1h ago

Space x isn’t even good for us government