Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Saturday that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk should face scrutiny over the impact of his spending cuts, arguing that Musk may have “possibly sentenced” 4.5 million children to death.
Khanna said Democrats should move to hold Musk accountable if the party regains control of either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
“I do believe once we take power, there needs to be accountability,” Khanna said during an appearance on the “I’ve Had It” podcast. “There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk. You know, they’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires, but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID.”
Khanna went on to say Musk should be compelled to explain his actions. “He needs to answer for that. He needs to be subpoenaed. He needs to face investigation. He needs to answer for what he did with DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency]. It’s not just ‘let’s move on,’” he said.
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Podcast host Jennifer Welch voiced support for the idea of investigating Musk, accusing him of being responsible for millions of deaths through government spending reductions tied to DOGE.
“I love that we need to keep pushing the talking point that you just had that we don’t need to celebrate Elon Musk making other people millionaires,” Welch said. “If you are the party of pro-life like you say you are, MAGA, he’s killing millions of the poorest people on the planet. So I think that hypocrisy there is really stunning.”
Fox News Digital contacted Khanna’s office, as well as Tesla and SpaceX, seeking comment.
The remarks come as Democratic officials and members of the mainstream media have intensified criticism of Musk after he became the world’s first trillionaire through SpaceX’s record-setting IPO earlier this month, further solidifying his position as the world’s richest person.
Khanna has also encouraged a massive new tax proposal called the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,” targeting wealthy men like Musk with a direct 5% annual wealth tax on assets, not just income, exceeding $1 billion.
“We have a deep economic divide in this country. On one side, places like Silicon Valley are generating extreme wealth. On the other side, families are struggling to cover the cost of health care, housing, and basic needs. We can tax billionaires a modest amount to make sure everyone has a fair chance while keeping our innovative engine,” Khanna said in a press release in March.
