Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Calls for Elon Musk Subpoena as GAO Report Exposes DOGE’s Fraud

Good stuff from Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) – more of this by Democrats, especially if/when they take back control of the Congress!  Just two quibbles (more than quibbles, actually) with Rep. Walkinshaw’s tweet (the cover image to this post; also, see below):

1.  Musk is a white supremacist, virulent and reckless bigot, fascist, etc., and no Democrat should be paying for access to his hate site (“X”/”Twitter”) at this point;
2. As for Musk’s “work to mainstream EVs (with government support)”, the fact is:

Musk’s companies, particularly Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity, have benefited from an estimated $38bn in public support, including government loans, tax credits and federal contracts. In 2010, Tesla received a $465m low-interest loan from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program. That funding was critical to keeping Tesla alive – without it, insiders later told the Washington Post, the company would have gone under. The success of Tesla’s flagship Model S, the expansion of its manufacturing base, and even the illusion of its early profitability were all bolstered by public money.

Zero-emission vehicle credits and the $7,500 federal EV tax credit were equally pivotal. Tesla earned billions by selling regulatory credits to legacy automakers struggling to meet emissions standards. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, 43% of Tesla’s net income came from these credits. The company also profited from California’s emissions credit system through a scheme involving phantom battery-swapping infrastructure – credits that provided hundreds of millions in additional income.

Despite this, Musk now derides subsidies and regulations as government overreach and has used Doge to slash many of the same types of programs – such as renewable energy incentives and federal climate investments – that once saved his own companies from bankruptcy. These were essential to Tesla’s success, and now he wants to limit other entrepreneurs and businesses from the same opportunities.

Even worse – as “thanks,” Musk turned around and poured massive resources into electing anti-government authoritarians, climate deniers, people who despise clean energy and are puppets of the fossil fuel industry, etc. So…yeah, seriously, f*** him – and definitely no reason to “admire” him in any way/shape/form.

With that, here’s Rep. Walkinshaw’s press release calling for Elon Musk to be subpoenaed “as GAO Report Exposes DOGE’s Fraud”:

Walkinshaw Calls for Elon Musk Subpoena as GAO Report Exposes DOGE’s Fraud

Washington, D.C. – Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement.

“This week’s bombshell GAO report shows that DOGE fraudulently lied to the American people. Elon Musk promised massive savings. Instead, DOGE spent nearly $16 billion paying people not to work and fired essential federal workers the Administration is now trying to hire back.

DOGE claimed hundreds of billions in savings that GAO found were flat-out false. Now we know the full truth, DOGE was a colossal failure built on fraudulent claims. It was a fraud perpetrated against the American people.

Chairman Comer created the DOGE Subcommittee to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Much like DOGE, it has failed. Now he and Chairman Burchett have a responsibility to bring GAO before the Committee, subpoena Elon Musk, and force him to answer under oath for DOGE’s deception and waste.”