- DOGE is a way for Elon Musk “to sort of carve out a rent-seeking opportunity extraordinaire,” USC professor Jeb Barnes said, pointing to an already successful tactic for him: accumulating subsidies. Musk has reportedly collected $38 billion in government funding over the years through contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits, according to a recent Washington Post analysis.
Elon Musk runs a number of multibillion-dollar companies that have made him the world’s richest man. Part of that comes from his skill in collecting money from the government, according to Jeb Barnes, a professor of political science for the University of Southern California.
