Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has alleged that the California High Speed Rail Project from Los Angeles to San Francisco, a project undertaken by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), is riddled with fraud.
More Funds Required
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Newsom’s Transportation Secretary Adetokunbo “Toks” Omishakin shared that the project would require additional funds. “The entire amount of money we need, not there today,” he said in the interview, but added that the administration was confident it could procure the funds needed to get the project done.
When asked for an exact dollar amount, Anthony Williams, who serves as a board member on the California High Speed Rail Project, said that the project would need over $126 billion in additional funding.
Omishakin also shared that while the initial phase of the project wouldn’t require help from President Donald Trump, but acknowledged that the “ultimate 494 miles of building this [the project] out without the federal government’s help will be challenging.”
The Trump administration had earlier withdrawn over $4 billion in funding for the project, a decision that was upheld by a California Court. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slamming the project’s “monstrous $135 BILLION price tag,” of which, over $16 billion came from taxpayers, according to the Secretary.
Elon Musk Weighs In
Musk shared his take in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday. “It's all going to fraud and bureaucracy,” the SpaceX CEO shared, without providing any additional details.
It’s worth noting that in a recent interview, Newsom shared that Musk had turned out to be ‘one of the great disappointments’ of our time, but also comparing the billionaire to inventor Thomas Edison. Newsom also shared that Musk was able to amass his wealth on the back of favorable regulations in California that helped EVs gather steam.
Newsom had earlier shared that over 463 miles of the 494 mile-project were ready for construction, sharing that over 16,400 jobs were also created due to the project. The Governor had also assured that the project had passed all audits and had entered the “track-laying phase.”
JD Vance Is Trump’s ‘Fraud Czar’
Meanwhile, Trump appointed Vice President J.D. Vance as the administration’s official "Fraud Czar" to head a federal anti-fraud initiative targeting Democrat-led states like California, Illinois, Minnesota and more.
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Photo courtesy: Frederic Legrand – COMEO from Shutterstock
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