Elon Musk has dropped a verbal bombshell on New York City’s mayoral race, targeting candidate Zohran Mamdani with a sharp critique that’s got everyone talking.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, speaking on "The Joe Rogan Experience," slammed Mamdani’s democratic socialist policies as a recipe for economic disaster, predicting a severe drop in living standards for all New Yorkers if the candidate’s ambitious plans come to fruition.
Musk didn’t hold back, painting Mamdani as a silver-tongued danger to the city’s future. "Mamdani is a charismatic swindler," Musk declared on the podcast. "I mean, you gotta hand it to him, like, he can light up a stage, but he has just been a swindler his entire life."
Let’s unpack that zinger—Musk’s point isn’t just about charm; he’s sounding an alarm on what he sees as reckless policy. He argues that Mamdani’s vision, rooted in socialist experiments, has historically tanked economies. "If Mamdani's policies are put into place, especially at scale, it would be a catastrophic decline in living standards, not just for the rich, but for everyone," Musk warned.
Who is this Mamdani fellow stirring up such a fuss? He’s a current New York State Assemblyman, proudly wearing the democratic socialist label, and he’s running for mayor with a platform that could make even the most progressive eyebrows shoot up.
His campaign promises are a laundry list of big-ticket items: hiking the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030, scrapping bus fares, and rolling out universal childcare. Admirable goals for some, sure, but at what cost? Many, like Musk, question whether the math adds up without breaking the bank.
Mamdani’s funding strategy is where the rubber meets the road—and it’s a bumpy ride. He’s pushing to raise personal income taxes on the top 1% by 2% and bump the corporate tax rate to 11.5%, matching New Jersey’s rate. It’s a bold play, but critics argue it risks driving businesses and high earners out of the city.
Last month, Mamdani doubled down on his tax hike proposals during an interview on Fox News’ "The Story" with Martha MacCallum. "I've said time and time again that I believe these are the most straightforward ways that we can actually fund universal childcare, making buses fast and free," he stated.
He continued, "I've said that the two clear ways to do so: raising personal income taxes on the top 1% by 2% and raising the corporate tax to match that of New Jersey's corporate tax of 11.5%." While Mamdani insists the focus should be on funding the agenda, skeptics wonder if this tax-heavy approach ignores the real-world fallout of such policies.
Beyond taxes, Mamdani’s got grand plans for housing and food access that sound utopian to some and unfeasible to others. He wants to build 200,000 new units of permanently affordable, rent-stabilized homes over the next decade, all union-built. Then there’s an immediate rent freeze for current stabilized tenants—nice for renters, but what about landlords?
Even wilder, Mamdani envisions city-owned grocery stores operating rent-free, dodging property taxes, and selling goods at wholesale prices. It’s pitched as a public option to combat high food costs, but one has to ask: Can the city really play grocer without spoiling the market for private businesses?
These ideas, while aimed at easing the burden on everyday New Yorkers, carry a whiff of government overreach that makes fiscal conservatives uneasy. The concern isn’t just about cost but about efficiency—can a bureaucracy really manage groceries better than the corner bodega?
Look, it’s clear Mamdani’s heart is in helping the little guy, and that’s not a bad thing. But when the solution is always more taxes and more government, it’s fair to wonder if the cure might be worse than the disease.
Musk’s critique, while harsh, taps into a broader fear among many New Yorkers and observers: that well-intentioned policies could spiral into economic decline. The debate over Mamdani’s platform isn’t just about numbers—it’s about the kind of city New York wants to be. Will it lean into free-market grit or gamble on a socialist overhaul?
