By Emily Mandaville
Billionaires like Elon Musk and their political influence are growing threats to our democracy, the climate justice movement, and the health of our communities. In response, 350 Seattle and Troublemakers launched a campaign demanding that Seattle and King County divest from all Musk-controlled enterprises and prohibit any new business arrangements moving forward.
In 2024, Musk dumped $288 million of his fortune into electing Donald Trump as President of the United States. As a result, Musk was appointed to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The alleged purpose of DOGE was to modernize information technology, maximize government productivity, and cut excess spending.
But what has DOGE actually done?
In seven months, DOGE has directed more than 275,000 United States federal civil service layoffs, while defunding and dismantling multiple departments. Additionally, they’ve used our tax dollars to begin compiling sensitive data from the Department of Homeland Security to construct a “master database” to surveil and track immigrants, a project with highly controversial legal and ethical implications.
Despite Musk’s departure from DOGE in May, he remains a top financial supporter of the Republican party, funding their goals of ramping up fossil fuel production, slashing funding for renewable energy, and continuing attacks on DEI programs, among much, much more.
As the department’s de facto lead, Musk worked hand-in-hand with Trump to cut tens of billions of federal dollars from municipal, county, and state governments. These cuts included at least $104 million directly impacting our local community.
Funding cuts in our community affected a wide range of organizations, including the Center for Children & Youth Justice, the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation, the EarthCorps program and many more. The largest Washington State cuts were made to Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA), with a $34 million cut. The second-largest hit was to the University of Washington: a $31 million loss in funding for research and jobs in biology, fisheries, medicine, psychology, environmental studies, and more.
Simply put, Musk’s political influence and corporate power have already cost Seattle millions, stripped essential services, and undermined our democracy. It is clear that whether Musk occupies a government role or not, he shows no signs of backing down.
For years, 350 Seattle and Troublemakers have stood up to Big Oil and refused to let Big Business destroy our future for their profits. We launched the Divest Musk campaign to show how local communities can stand up to these billionaires and ensure that public money is spent on public good. These federal budget cuts are growing threats to our health, environment, public safety, and education, and it is time to pressure our government officials to take real action. Every day, one thing is increasingly clear: no one is coming to save us.
This is why it’s up to us — all of us — to take action now against the attacks the administration is leveling against our community. If we work together, we can protect our city and our future from the grip of billionaires intent on putting profit over people.
To this end, our campaign is working toward three main goals:
- Seattle City Council resolution declaring intention to prohibit all future financial arrangements with Elon Musk-controlled enterprises.
- King County Council resolution declaring intention to prohibit all future financial arrangements with Elon Musk-controlled enterprises.
- Autonomous vehicle safety regulations that prevent unsafe AVs, including Tesla Robotaxis, from being deployed on our streets.
Read the full campaign brief here.
So far, we’ve collected over 1,300 signatures on a petition demanding that Seattle ban all government contracts with Elon Musk.
Can we count on your signature next?
To get involved and learn more, join us for a campaign onboarding call, hosted every Monday night via Zoom at 5:30 pm.Start today: sign the petition, join an onboarding call, and begin to rally your community. Every signature, every conversation, every act of resistance matters. The time to act is now.
