Elon Musk's regulatory obstacles have started dwindling in the course of Donald Trump's second term.
In an intriguing twist of events, tech tycoon Elon Musk's regulatory woes seem to be fading into the distant past under the second Trump administration.
As the administration reshapes federal agencies, some who previously scrutinized Musk and his business empire have taken on a new look. For instance, at the Department of Agriculture, Donald Trump fired the individual conducting an investigation into Neuralink. Other agencies, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have experienced attempts by Trump and Musk to slash the workforce, potentially impairing their ability to enforce laws against companies, such as Musk's Tesla and X.
Recently, Trump's Justice Department dropped a case against Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, and his Labor Department canceled a planned civil rights review of his automaker, Tesla. Another regulatory matter against SpaceX is in settlement talks with the National Labor Relations Board. Furthermore, there have been 40 other federal agency matters that have gone quiet for several months or more, raising questions about their status. These matters cover a wide range of topics, from Tesla's self-driving technologies to potential workplace safety violations at SpaceX.
Jon Michaels, a law professor from the University of California, Los Angeles, sees a potential pattern of federal agencies slowing down these ongoing investigations involving Musk's companies. Michaels points out that regulators might hesitate to challenge Musk, who wields considerable influence as a White House adviser for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Moreover, individual regulators may fear backlash from Musk, who is known for publicly criticizing individuals on his massive social media platform, even those who are relatively unknown.
Musk's personal involvement in reshaping the federal government is different from other Republican presidents' approach to environmental rules or labor law enforcement. According to Michaels, the administrative state as we traditionally understand it could be incapacitated due to Musk's unprecedented governmental influence.
This shift may help Musk's companies avoid potential fines for suspected violations of federal law. At stake is over $2 billion in potential liability, along with workplace changes that Musk may have to implement if he loses these regulatory battles.
Regulators have also offered Musk's businesses some assistance by relaxing written regulations. For example, the Transportation Department recently lowered the reporting threshold for self-driving car companies, including Tesla, and the Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX permission to perform 25 launches per year of its massive Starship, a fivefold increase despite potential environmental and air travel impacts.
The looser regulatory environment has likely benefited Musk and other business executives, many of whom supported Trump's campaign to regain the White House. Musk, the world's wealthiest individual, spent approximately $290 million to aid Trump's campaign and has been a White House adviser since January. Musk has hinted that he plans to return to the tech world over the following weeks.
Similarly, the Trump administration has dropped regulatory matters against other corporations, including a Clean Air Act case against a Louisiana rubber factory, consumer protection actions against financial services companies, and lawsuits against cryptocurrency firms. Trump has also moved forward with actions that Musk has lobbied against, such as tariffs, despite potential negative impacts on his businesses.
When asked for comment on the handling of Musk-related regulatory matters by the Trump administration, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated that all administration officials would comply with conflict of interest requirements. Musk and his companies did not respond to requests for comment regarding regulatory matters involving his businesses.
Some agency-led changes may help Musk's ventures avoid regulatory scrutiny. For instance, upon Trump's inauguration, he signed an executive order on January 21, 2021, which suspended the operations of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, an agency within the Labor Department that reviews government contractors to ensure they comply with civil rights laws. Tesla was among 2,000 contractors on a list for scheduled audits. In another case, an administrative complaint filed against SpaceX in 2023, during the Biden administration, was dismissed by the Department of Justice in February 2025, shortly after a filing in federal court.
It remains to be seen whether these regulatory developments represent a trend of special treatment for Musk or simply a relaxation of regulatory scrutiny that any business might enjoy under the Trump administration. However, the changes could certainly make it easier for Musk to regain focus on his tech companies with fewer constraints than before. Musk indicated on a Tesla earnings call in April that his commitment to DOGE would "drop significantly" starting in May as he allocated more of his time to Tesla.
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- Elon Musk's businesses, Tesla and SpaceX, may have benefited from a looser regulatory environment under the Trump administration, potentially avoiding fines for suspected violations of federal law worth over $2 billion.
- The Transportation Department lowered the reporting threshold for self-driving car companies, including Tesla, and the Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX permission to perform 25 launches per year of its massive Starship, despite potential environmental and air travel impacts.
- Similar regulatory assistance was provided to other corporations, such as the dismissal of a Clean Air Act case against a Louisiana rubber factory and the dropping of consumer protection actions against financial services companies.
- In the world of technology and finance, there have been shifts, with cryptocurrency firms facing fewer regulatory matters and platforms like Fortnite launching on the App Store after a court win.
- In the broader scope of general-news, cultural trends continue to evolve, as seen with Ye's pro-Hitler song garnering millions of views on various platforms.
