Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.
Please enter a valid email address.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is on a campaign trail blitz as he rallies support for former President Trump, targeting government regulations as he champions the expansion of American businesses and cutting government red tape.
Musk officially endorsed Trump over the summer, when the 45th president survived the first assassination attempt on his life this election cycle, and has since joined the campaign trail in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania to rally support and encourage people to vote. Relying on his decades as a tech visionary and business leader who has personally dealt with tight government regulations, Musk has made cutting red tape a hallmark of his stump speeches and commentary on X.
Advertisement
Early Sunday morning, Musk posted on X that he was ready to reveal to the public a bizarre alleged scheme where his company SpaceX was “forced by the government to kidnap seals.”
“Tomorrow, I will tell the story of how SpaceX was forced by the government to kidnap seals, put earphones on them and play sonic boom sounds to see if they seemed upset,” Musk posted on Sunday morning.
FETTERMAN ISSUES WARNING TO DEMOCRATS AFTER ELON STUMPS FOR TRUMP IN PENNSYLVANIA
Musk’s tease came in response to a clip of him saying on Saturday in Pennsylvania that he has a “bunch of nutty stories” related to government overregulation, including how SpaceX had to study the probability of its Starship rocket hitting a whale or shark.
“SpaceX had to do this study to see if Starship would hit a shark. And I’m like… it’s a big ocean. There are a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely. So we said, ‘Fine, we’ll do the analysis. Can you give us the shark data?’” he recounted to laughters from the audience. He said the National Marine Fisheries Service ordered SpaceX to carry out the study.
Advertisement
“They were like, ‘No, we can’t give you the shark data.’ Well, then, OK, we’re in a bit of a quandary. How do we solve this shark probability issue? They said, ‘Well, we could give it to our western division, but we don’t trust them.’ I’m like, ‘Am I in a comedy sketch here?’” Musk said in the clip.
“Eventually, we got the data and could run the analysis to say, ‘Yeah, the sharks are going to be fine.’ But they wouldn’t let us proceed with the launch until we did this crazy shark analysis. Then we thought, ‘OK, now we’re done.’ But then they said, ‘What about whales?’” Musk continued.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks as former President Trump listens at a campaign event, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
If re-elected to the White House, Trump said Musk could take a new position as “Secretary of Cost-Cutting” for the federal government.
“He doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo last week on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “He just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting.”
Advertisement
“We’ll have a new position: Secretary of Cost-Cutting. Elon wants to do that, and we have incredible people. He’s running a big business. He can’t just say, ‘I think I’ll go into the Cabinet.’ Other people can. He can’t, but Elon’s a little bit different in that sense.”
Going back to August, when Musk hosted Trump for an interview on X Spaces, he focused his economic criticisms on government overspending as spurring current inflation woes that have rocked Americans’ pocketbooks.
FETTERMAN ADMITS ELON MUSK ‘ATTRACTIVE TO A DEMOGRAPHIC’ DEMOCRATS ‘NEED’ TO WIN PENNSYLVANIA
“A lot of people just don’t understand where inflation comes from. Inflation comes from government overspending because the checks never bounce when it’s written by the government. So if the government spends far more than it brings in, that increases the money supply. If the money supply increases faster than the rate of goods and services, that’s inflation,” Musk said during their conversation.
“So really we need to reduce our government spending, and we need to re-examine… I think we need a government efficiency commission to say like, ‘Hey, where are we spending money that’s sensible. Where is it not sensible?’”
Advertisement
Musk officially hit the campaign trail on behalf of Trump’s candidacy last week, holding a handful of rallies in Pennsylvania – a place Musk said he knows well, citing his Philadelphia residency while attending the University of Pennsylvania in the 1990s.
While speaking before an audience in Folsom last week, which is located about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia, Musk highlighted how Space X faced a $140,000 fine from the EPA for using drinking water to cool down a launch pad.
Former President Trump gestures at a campaign rally at the Findlay Toyota Arena on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Arizona.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“I’ll tell you like a crazy thing, like we got fined $140,000 by the EPA for dumping fresh water on the ground. Drinking water. It’s crazy. I’ll just give you an example of just how crazy it is. And we’re like, ‘Well, we’re using water to cool the launch pad during launch. You know, we’re going to cool the launch pad so it doesn’t overheat. And in excess of caution, we actually brought in drinking water, so clean, super clean water,’” Musk said to the audience.
“And the FAA said, ‘No, you have to pay a $140,000 fine.’ And we’re like, ‘But Starbase is in a tropical thunderstorm area. Sky water falls all the time,’” Musk recounted, referring to SpaceX’s headquarters in Texas. “‘That is the same as the water we used’ So, and it’s like… there’s no harm to anything. And they said, ‘Yeah, but we didn’t have a permit.’ We’re like, ‘You need a permit for fresh water?’” Musk recounted.
Advertisement
TRUMP SUPPORTER ELON MUSK OFFERS MASSIVE HOURLY PAY TO THOSE WORKING TO INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT
Musk argued that America needs to move from “solving one problem after another,” to building industries that “inspire” residents alongside growing innovation, but that “we’re being massively slowed down by regulatory molasses.”
Elon Musk jumps on the stage as former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Musk’s campaign tour has apparently worried Democrats amid Trump’s effort to claim the Keystone State.
Pennsylvania is viewed as the state that will likely determine the final outcome of the election, with both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly zigzagging the state to rally support among city dwellers, suburbanites and farmers alike. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman warned party members to not discount Musk’s influence among Pennsylvania voters.
“Not even just that he has endorsed [Trump], but the fact that now he’s becoming an active participant and showing up and doing rallies and things like that,” Fetterman told the New York Post, explaining that the enormously successful Tesla and SpaceX CEO is an attractive figure for the kinds of voters Harris needs to win.
Sen. John Fetterman has warned Democrats about Elon Musk’s potential impact on Pennsylvania voters.(Getty Images)
“I mean, [Musk] is incredibly successful, and, you know, I think some people would see him as, like, a Tony Stark,” said Fetterman, referencing the popular Marvel Comics character. “Democrats, you know, kind of make light of it, or they make fun of him jumping up and down and things like that. And I would just say that they are doing that at our peril.”
Advertisement
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
PORTLAND (WGME) — If the polls are any indication, Graham Platner is the toughest challenger Senator Susan Collins has faced in the 30 years she’s held her Senate seat.
“I know now for certain, or pretty much for certain, who my opponent will be,” Collins said.
Collins toured York County’s new regional training center Friday, which she helped secure the funding to build.
As the first chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee from Maine in nearly 100 years, she says she’s been able to bring $1.5 billion to Maine for more than 650 projects across the state.
Advertisement
It’s federal funding, she says, that paid to replace or renovate 45 Maine fire stations, support childcare centers and help rural hospitals stay open.
“I think every day about how we can make life more comfortable for people in Maine,” Platner said.
Platner blames billionaires, big corporations, President Donald Trump, Collins and Republicans in Congress for the ongoing struggles facing working families and small businesses in Maine.
“We need to beat Susan Collins,” Platner said.
CBS13 asked Collins if she felt Trump’s performance will cost her votes in November. She did not answer that directly but did say she’s not running on Trump’s record, but her own.
Advertisement
“I’m proud of my record and the accomplishments of what I’ve been able to do for Maine and for our country,” Collins said.
Collins says the Social Security Fairness Act she helped pass allows retired teachers and first responders to now get the Social Security they earned working in the private sector, along with their pensions.
“I can’t tell you how many retired employees have come up to me and said that it’s made the difference between a comfortable retirement and barely getting by,” Collins said.
They are two polar opposites in many ways, vying for a Senate seat where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“I look forward to what I hope will be a civil discussion of the important issues facing our country and the State of Maine,” Collins said.
It’s that part of the volleyball season in which league opponents are facing each other for the second time, and Acton-Boxborough sure is making it interesting.
This Revolution squad, which was swept by Westford and Newton South, defeated both in a combined nine sets the second time around. A 6-6 record does not warrant a significant a rise in the Globe’s Top 20 boys’ volleyball poll, but it’s certainly a team on the right trajectory.
Needham moves up a spot after sweeping Newton South and pushing Brookline to an intense fifth set, and now the Warriors have defeated Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in five sets without dropping a set in any other in-state match. Needham and Natick await their rematches, though the Redhawks are the top dog in the MIAA’s Division 1 power rankings due to their strength of schedule.
Lexington held on in five against Chelmsford, Braintree swept Milton, and Barnstable continues to only have one set loss on the year (in its first matchup). Record based on results reported to the Globe.
Advertisement
The Globe’s Top 20 boys’ volleyball poll
The Globe poll as of May 2, 2026. Teams were selected by the Globe sports staff.
AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com. Follow him on X @aj_traub and Instagram @ajt37.
