1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

The growing number of federal contracts awarded to Elon Musk's companies, totaling over $18 billion in the last decade, raises serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Despite leading an effort to slash government spending, his firms like SpaceX and Tesla have seen a significant increase in lucrative government deals, with SpaceX alone receiving over $17 billion since 2015. This trend continued under the current administration, with contracts doubling in fiscal year 2021 compared to 2020. While Musk claims he will recuse himself from decisions involving his businesses, there needs to be complete transparency and strict ethical guardrails in place. His firms' financial entanglement with federal agencies like NASA and the Department of Defense creates an inherent conflict of interest that could unduly influence spending decisions. Insider trading and self-dealing at the expense of taxpayers must be prevented. Meaningful reform is needed to eliminate such glaring conflicts and ensure federal contracting prioritizes the public good over private profits. Strict ethical standards and oversight mechanisms should be implemented to safeguard the integrity of the process.