Elon Musk desires to denationalise the US’ Postal Service and Amtrak, he mentioned on Wednesday.
It’s “kind of embarrassing” how different nations have “way better passenger rail than we do,” like China’s bullet trains, Musk mentioned throughout a digital look at a Morgan Stanley tech convention.
“Amtrak is a sad situation,” he mentioned. “It’s like, if you’re coming from another country, please don’t use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America.”
The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire, who can also be the face of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting company, mentioned “we should privatize anything that can be privatized.”
“You’ve got a feedback loop for improvement, is what happens when something’s privatized,” Musk mentioned. “Basically something’s got to have some chance of going bankrupt or there’s not a good feedback loop for improvement.”
But he acknowledged that “a bunch of these things require actions for Congress.”
Musk didn’t present particulars on if or when these actions could be taken.
His feedback echo President Trump’s personal calls to take the USPS non-public, first floating the concept throughout a December press convention.
Trump informed reporters that privatizing the Postal Service was “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard” and that “we’re looking” into it.
He doubled down final month, saying that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would “look into” folding the Postal Service into the Commerce Division.
“We think we can turn it around, but it’s — it’s the Postal Service,” the president mentioned.
“We’re losing so much money with the Postal Service, and we don’t want to lose that kind of money. So the secretary and some others that have talent, that kind of talent, we’ll be looking at it,” he added.
The USPS is infamous for shedding cash, routinely posting annual losses linked to retiree pensions.
Throughout its most up-to-date fiscal 12 months ended Sept. 30, the Postal Service reported a $1.4 billion enhance in working income to $79.54 billion thanks to cost will increase as quantity declined.
It additionally suffered a internet lack of $9.5 billion – a $3 billion enhance from the 12 months earlier than resulting from “factors that are outside of management’s control, specifically, the amortization of unfunded retiree pension liabilities,” the USPS mentioned in an earnings launch.
Those that oppose taking the Postal Service non-public have argued it’s an important service for Individuals dwelling in rural or inaccessible areas the place corporations like UPS and FedEx don’t ship.
Musk’s disdain for America’s nationwide railway techniques, in the meantime, is nothing new.
His futuristic, high-speed transportation pitch “Hyperloop” was apparently borne out of his “hatred for California’s proposed high-speed rail system,” since it might supposedly be the slowest but on the highest price per mile, reporter Ashlee Vance claimed in his 2015 biography of Musk.
A consultant for Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
