How close is Elon Musk to controlling a nuclear weapon?
What was once ridiculous is now possible. Elon Musk, the richest person in the history of the world, has become President Donald Trumpas attack dog. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have unprecedented access to the governmentas data and computer system. Earlier this week, that came to include systems in the Department of Energy (DOE), which oversees Americaas nuclear weapons. The news raised enough concern that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright went on the air to deny Musk and DOGE have access to atomic secrets.
It's alarming to be at a point where someone has to make this kind of statement, especially because the Trump administration has reportedly lied about DOGE's access levels before. DOGE's placement at the DOE even raises a truly bizarre-sounding possibility: that a pseudo-department named after a shiba inu could get actual access to nuclear weapons. Fortunately, despite Musk's ever-expanding power over government systems, it would take far more than barging into the right office to do this. But at a moment where all kinds of governmental norms are in flux, it's worth looking at what exactly separates someone like Musk from perhaps the greatest d …