--- title: "Elon Musk Says It’s Time to Get Rid of All Regulations" description: "Just a few weeks into Donald Trump's presidency, unelected official Elon Musk has already been wildly successful in his deregulation quest." date: "2025-02-04" modified: "2025-02-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-eliminate-regulations" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "regulations" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Says It’s Time to Get Rid of All Regulations ![Just a few weeks into Donald Trump's presidency, unelected official Elon Musk has already been wildly successful in his deregulation quest.]() *\Image: Angel Weiss / AFP via Getty / Futurism\* ## Regulation Black Even before Donald Trump took office, his [major bankroller]() Elon Musk was [publicly pledging]() to use his new power in the federal government to gut its existing efforts to regulate private industry. Weeks into the Trump administration, Musk has mostly made headlines for an assault on federal workers and payments. But regulation may not be far behind: during a [late-night public chat]() this week, the world's richest man said it's time to get rid of all existing regulations. "Regulations, basically, should be default gone," the head of the White House's Department of Government Efficiency said on the call, [as spotted by *HuffPost*](). "Not default there, default gone." "If it turns out that we missed the mark on a regulation, we can always add it back in," he suggested. "These regulations are added willy-nilly all the time. So we’ve just got to do a wholesale, spring cleaning of regulation and get the government off the backs of everyday Americans so people can get things done." That astonishing mask-off moment — one of many during his short time as a presidential advisor — comes as Musk demonstrates that Trump has deputized him with incredible power to remake the federal government, as evidenced by his assault on the United States Agency for International Development. "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper," [the billionaire bragged on X](). "Could \[have\] gone to some great parties. Did that instead." ## Land of the Free It's unclear what Musk thinks will happen if regulations are rolled back, especially considering the [intensity of the shockwaves]() after [all the drama at USAID]() and beyond. (Many acts of deregulation would also benefit him personally at his business ventures, ranging from Tesla to SpaceX.) Regulations, after all, provide Americans with an incredible number of protections — from workplace safety to rules against companies polluting to making it so manufacturers can't sell goods that are poisonous or dangerous. Musk's counterpoint: [muh freedoms](), essentially. "If the government has millions of regulations holding everyone back, well, it’s not freedom," Musk said during the call. "We’ve got to restore freedom." That "millions" number is, of course, hyperbolic. By the [end of 2024](), there were about 107,000 pages in the [Federal Register](), where such rules are documented. With each regulation clocking in at anywhere between one and 16 pages, there are far fewer than Musk is suggesting. Last year, the [Biden administration passed new regulations]() codifying everything from expanded overtime pay for Americans previously ineligible to banning asbestos. That's the stuff that Musk and Trump want to get rid of — and [regardless of whether or not it's legal](), they're trudging forward on their dark mission. **More on Muskian overreach:** [*Elon Musk Says DOGE Will Now Shut Down Government Payments He Doesn't Like*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()