Vice President Vance on Friday chided European leaders for their criticism of Elon Musk wading into their elections, comparing Musk’s actions to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg urging American leaders to take action on climate change.
“I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns, or worse yet, shutting down media, shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing. In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” Vance said.
“And speaking up and expressing opinions isn’t election interference, even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential,” he continued. “And trust me, I say this with all humor: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
The Hill’s piece on Musk and Vance’s Euro-tour reads like a corporate carnival masquerading as diplomacy. Tech oligarchs playing statesmen while defense contracts and AI patents get shuffled under the table. Ukraine’s “security” is just a euphemism for profit margins, and energy “innovation” means privatizing public infrastructure until it’s another subscription service.
Musk’s private sector savior complex hits different when you realize it’s just a hedge against taxes. Vance whining about EU regulations? Classic regulatory capture—can’t let pesky consumer protections interfere with monopolizing the digital commons. Algorithmic colonialism wrapped in venture capital buzzwords. But sure, let’s pretend this is about “progress” and not entrenching power where accountability algorithms can’t reach.