EU's Cash to Musk's Cosmic Cartel Sparks a Fuss
EU Provides Millions in Funding to Enterprises Led by Elon Musk
Jabber Skewer the System: Elon Musk's fence pisses off neighbors In the realm of tech titans, Elon Musk continues to stir the pot, and his latest scandal is all about EU funds to his companies, despite his contentious political views. Here's a lowdown on the controversies and probes surrounding the EU's funding of Musk's ventures:
A Peek at Financing
- Tesla: In 2023, the EU doled out approximately €159 million to Tesla for setting up electric vehicle charging stations.
- SpaceX: The EU awarded a contract totaling around $197 million to SpaceX in 2024 for launching Galileo navigation system satellites, as a result of Ariane 6 rocket commissioning delays.
- X (ex-Twitter): The EU shelled out €630,000 to X for ad campaigns, before halting its ad services in October 2023 [1][2][4].
Queries and Quibbles
- EU Parliamentary Inquiry: Green MEP Daniel Freund was intrigued about EU funding for Musk-linked corporations and expressed concern over the EU subsidizing a billionaire who resists EU values.
- Musk's Politics: Criticisms toward Musk grow louder due to his backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, his babbling against EU digital norms, and the ongoing probe of Musk's platform X for potential breaches of EU standards for digital services, such as curbing hate speech and misinformation [4].
A Word from the EU Commission
- The EU Commission justified its funding moves, proclaiming the termination of any services sourced from X since October 2023.
- Questions linger about the exhaustiveness of disclosed funding data, with the 2024 fiscal info only due for release in June 2025 [4].
All this drama highlights the friction between the EU's financial backing of Musk's companies and his opposing views on EU policies.
- Elon Musk
- USA
- EU
- Auto sector
- SpaceX
References:[1] ntv.de[2] Ansgar Haase[3] dpa[4] Enrichment Data, 2023
In light of the EU's financial support to Elon Musk's companies, a question arises about the compatibility of this funding with Musk's hostile stance toward EU policies, particularly in the digital domain. Additionally, the debate escalates over the employment and community policies of these corporations, as technology continues to play a dominant role in their operations.
