Democratic Congressman Greg Casar speaks at offices of the Mexican American Unity Council. Credit: Twitter / Congressman Greg Casar

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat whose district spans Austin and San Antonio, shared an Instagram video Thursday outlining all the cash the U.S. has flowed to billionaire and Trump advisor Elon Musk, calling the relationship “corruption at its worst.”

“This week alone, we’ve learned even more about Elon Musk’s corruption,” the chairman of the Progressive Caucus said. “First, we’ve learned that Elon Musk received even more money from the government than we’d known of before.”

Musk has raked in $38 billion in federal contracts, the congressman added, calling the amount “obscene.” This figure has been reported by news outlets including the Washington Post, and it accounts for funds Musk’s various businesses have received over the years in dealings with the government.

“I’ve never heard of an individual that received that much money before,” Casar said of the unelected head of DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency.

The congressman also highlighted $400 million Trump attempted to funnel to Tesla. “Until we caught them, and they tried to lie about it to get out of it,” Casar added.

The congressman appeared to be referring to a proposed contract to purchase “armored electric vehicles” to transport diplomats. When asked about the pact, the State department said the purchase order was now on hold and claimed talks began during the Biden administration, NPR reports.

Despite that explanation, NPR obtained a document revealing Biden’s State Department planned to spend just $483,000 to buy electric vehicles during the 2025 fiscal year. Later, the Trump administration quietly revised the procurement document, seeming to add a few zeros.

But it doesn’t end there.

“We just got word that Trump’s Federal Aviation Commission is attempting to hand over another multibillion dollar contract to Elon Musk while he’s the head of DOGE,” Casar added in his clip. “While he’s standing there in the Oval Office with Donald Trump.”

Here Casar is referring to a deal with Musk’s Starlink, which could be part of the FAA’s plan to revamp its air traffic control systems, as reported by CBS and other outlets. Starlink is already installed at three FAA facilities and is prepared to take over a $2 billion contract now held by FAA telecom provider Verizon, the Associated Press reports.

The FAA maintains that the facilities, located in Alaska, suffer from connectivity issues and the agency “had been considering using Starlink since the prior administration,” according to its post on X.

However, considering Musk’s nebulous, unelected and extremely influential position in the White House, Casar said it raises bright red flags.

“This is corruption at its worst,” he said. “This is a massive conflict of interest.”

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This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.