The Law Does Not Apply to Elon Musk

Matt Levine: “Musk is extremely rich, he’s litigious and willing to fight even without great legal arguments, he’s popular online and has a large army of fans who get mad at his critics, and he is essential to various essential companies. You can’t seriously expect all of the laws to apply to him…”

“Musk has helped get Donald Trump elected president, and Trump is not particularly big on insisting that his supporters follow the law in every detail. In a month, if any federal regulators or law enforcement officers object to anything that Musk does, can Musk just… fire them?”

Jonathan Last: “I’m not sure we have analogues for this. Normally when people flout the law they take pains to make it appear as though they’re not. They cover up their misdeeds or at least stay quiet.”

“Elon Musk’s approach is to brag about how he is an Übermensch to whom normal laws do not apply. So far this has worked out for him.”