Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and a philanthropist, has spoken out in favor of safeguards against excessive influence of Elon Musk on the US government.
“I think you need to take precautions about whether Elon’s companies are getting advantages because of his political position and against that, you should protect yourself” Gates told the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. “A government needs many perspectives, not just those of rich people.”
Gates is not opposed to all of Musk’s initiatives. “Elon’s idea of making the administration more efficient is not crazy” Gates said. “Will they maybe get rid of some things they shouldn’t get rid of? I don’t know. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it. In my opinion, we need to reduce our budget deficit.”
Gates also commented on Musk’s many activities. “For me, it’s like this: when I try to do many things, people in my circle say, ‘You should do less things, but in higher quality, focus on a few things.’ I don’t think Musk has someone telling him that. Just look at the list of things he does. But hey, that’s how he spends his time, I guess.