Stop Flinging Poop And Start Selling More Tesla EVs

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The sprawling tentacles of the Epstein scandal have ensnared Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a greater extent than he first admitted. Now the multi-tasking tycoon is flinging social media poop at another Epstein-adjacent Silicon Valley tycoon in a desperate attempt to deflect attention from himself. Meanwhile, the Epstein Effect has some members of Congress convinced that the American public is finally primed to support new legislation aimed at eliminating the public subsidies enjoyed by Musk and other deep-pocketed election influencers.

The American Public Is Finally Primed To Defund The Oligarchs

Defunding oligarchs like Elon Musk is a tough row to hoe for the Democratic legislators. At this moment in time, Democrats hold the minority position in both houses of Congress and the US Supreme Court, to boot. Nevertheless, with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party bleeding support practically by the day as the 2026 midterm election cycle heats up, the pump is primed for a Democratic comeback.

As capably demonstrated by newly minted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, voters are also primed for change within the Democratic Party, and a quartet of women in the House of Representatives has taken up the opportunity. On January 26, Representatives Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) introduced the new “Defund the Oligarchs, Fund the People Resolution” as a first step toward a legislative solution that pulls tax breaks and other subsidies out from under the corporate piggy-banks that support Musk and other high flying election influencers. Representative Summer Lee (PA-12) is also credited as an original cosponsor.

No word yet if Defund the Oligarchs will even make it into committee hearings before Election Day 2026, but there is plenty of time to raise the issues, point by point, ahead of the primary elections this spring. With a helpful assist from supporting partner Our Revolution, the aim is to vault a new generation of aggressive, articulate, and effective Democratic policymakers into office.

For the record, the organizations Americans for Tax Fairness, Climate and Community Institute, Demos, Detroit Justice Center, Income Movement, MoveOn, National Nurses United, Patriotic Millionaires, People’s Action, Public Citizen, RootsAction, Social Security Works, Tax the Greedy Billionaires, United for Respect, and Wellbeing Economy Alliance have also endorsed Defund the Oligarchs (read the full text of the legislation here).

Doesn’t He Have A Company To Run?

Musk holds a particularly notorious status among well heeled election influencers, partly due to his role as head of the President’s “DOGE” government-shredding office last year. Officials in Europe are also calling Musk to account in court for the predatory behavior enabled by his Grok chatbot.

Those are just two elements in a pounding cascade of Musk self-owns that have permanently tainted the Tesla brand, and the slippage is showing. Tesla’s EV sales showed signs of weakness even before 2025. In recent months Musk has hammered the Tesla sales spiral into key markets, including China as well as parts of Europe and the US.

Now it’s February of 2026 and Peak Musk has arrived. Earlier this month, Musk somehow managed to one-up himself in the Tesla brand destruction department after new details emerged about Epstein’s ties to high profile Silicon Valley entrepreneurs including Musk himself.

“Two tech billionaires, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, have been locked in a social media struggle for days since the documents were released, trading public insults on X as they have accused each other of having exercised poor judgment in connection with Epstein,” NBC News reported on February 5.

Hoffman got the ball rolling on February 3. Apparently following instructions from his crisis management team, he affirmed that his connections with Epstein took place after Epstein was convicted of sex trafficking in 2008, and he apologized for his behavior.

“Yes, interacting with Epstein post-conviction is something I deeply regret,” Hoffman posted on X. “I promise to continue calling for the full release of the Epstein files — the victims deserve justice, and those responsible should be held accountable.”

Ever the comedian, never the apologist, Musk responded later that same day with a wisecrack. “While you’re at it, maybe you can help OJ ‘find the real killer,’” he posted.

“Hoffman jabbed back at Musk by posting a screenshot of an email in which Musk asked Epstein in 2012, ‘What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?’” NBC further reported.

Doesn’t He Have A Business to Run?

Perhaps Musk should hire a crisis management team of his own. Still, even without the guidance of professionals, the fight appeared to settle down under the dust of the news cycle. Or not, as the case may be. Not content to let a sleeping dog lie, on the evening of February 13, Musk took another poke at Hoffman, posting “Hoffman should be investigated” on X.

“The FBI cleared me,” Hoffman replied. “You on the other hand…”

In response, later that night Musk elaborated:

“Liar, you are guilty of dark deeds and haven’t been cleared of anything.

“You stayed at Epstein’s island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico and Epstein’s house in New York. You offered to help him with PR. You gave him gifts …

“Maybe if it was only one stay over, you could claim it was a mistake. Maybe.

“But there is NO possible explanation for the second time, let alone the third time. As the record shows, you were an eager repeat customer.”

Spoken like a man who has nothing to hide, amirite?

Now would be a good time to issue that mea culpa and move on, but since when has Musk ever followed the guidance of crisis management professionals. Even if Musk ever did admit to the evidence, what would an apology accomplish? Musk’s personal affinity for a convicted sex offender is but a pea under the mile-high stack of moral mattresses he accumulated after emerging as a principle funder of Trump’s successful 2024 campaign.

Of course, the 77 million US citizens who funneled Trump into office with their votes on Election Day 2024 bear the bulk of the responsibility, along with millions of other eligible voters who did not bother to cast a ballot, or voted for a third-party “purity” candidate just to make whatever point they wanted to make. Still, Musk can take on an extra share of the burden for the eruption of pain and misery over the past year, up to and including (but not limited to):

Try as he might, Hoffman can’t hold a candle to the damage Musk has fostered across the US and beyond. Besides, everyone knows Hoffman is a leading donor to Democrats, and he is unlikely to switch sides anytime soon.

If the Defund the Oligarchs or similar legislation miraculously succeeds some day, leading Democratic donors like Hoffman could get caught in the crossfire. Then again, so will Musk and other Republican supporters of his ilk, and that’s a good thing.

If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Better yet, find your representatives in Congress and let them know what you think.

Photo: By Kyle Field via CleanTechnica archive.