Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday challenged Elon Musk to a televised debate about his impact as former head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency after Musk, the world’s first trillionaire, threatened to sue Khanna for citing a troubling study. The California Democrat dared the SpaceX and Tesla CEO during an interview with CNBC.
Khanna's Challenge
“I challenge him to a debate … do it on CNN, do it on CNBC, do it at a university, he can pick the setting and let’s debate what happened at DOGE. Let’s debate why I’m for a wealth tax,” Khanna said Monday. “We can have a conversation of ideas if he believes in free speech.”
He added during the interview, “It’s not pleasant to have the world’s richest person with the biggest platform on X go say you should be in prison and that he’s going to sue you, and then I’m a liar. I’m taking on the richest person in the world.”
Musk's Lawsuit Threat
Khanna said he hoped Musk “would have an actual debate” instead of simply suing him. The trillionaire threatened as much after Khanna said “there needs to be accountability” for Musk during an episode of the “I’ve Had It” podcast released Saturday, stating there are “4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID.”
President Donald Trump last year tapped Musk as a special government employee to reduce supposedly wasteful public spending. Musk went on to dismantle USAID, a government agency that administered civilian foreign aid, calling it a “criminal organization.” Studies warn this could result in more than 14 million excess, preventable deaths by 2030.
Political Context
Khanna is rumored to announce a 2028 presidential run and has been pushing for greater taxes on the rich, calling out Musk during an appearance Friday on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and making his case for the trillionaire’s dangerous impact Saturday on “I’ve Had It.”
“Time to sue this liar,” Musk wrote Monday on X, linking to Khanna’s podcast comments. Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022 and went on to spend more than a quarter-billion dollars to help reelect Trump. He notably claimed “Trump would have lost the election” without him following a public falling-out after Musk’s tenure at DOGE.
Scientific Evidence
While Khanna had cited a 2025 study published in The Lancet, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical journals in the world, Musk nonetheless called for the congressman to be imprisoned for noting the potentially lethal consequences of his cuts while at DOGE.
“The standard applied by DOGE was very simple and easy: Provide contact information for the recipients of aid, so that we can confirm it is not fraudulent,” Musk wrote Monday on X. “The reality is that money was being sent to corrupt politicians under the guise of aid!” He continued, “Liars and stock insider traders like Ro the Robber should be in prison!!”
Previous Support
Khanna noted during his CNBC interview that Musk has previously supported him and even praised his public stance against Twitter censoring a story about former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden — but simply “lost it” when Khanna cited the Lancet study.
The official DOGE account on X published a lengthy response Monday addressing Khanna’s criticisms, decrying the studies he cited as “fake” and claiming that the Department of State has “totally rebuilt our lifesaving aid portfolio” after USAID was dismantled. Whether Musk will agree to square off against Khanna remains unclear, but seems unlikely.
