MSU Students Give Opinions on Elon Musk’s Unelected Role

Students, faculty, staff and local residents gathered in front of Montana Hall on Friday afternoon to protest what they perceive as careless and harmful cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump’s administration. This event — in addition to a recent incident on campus where an individual graffitied “F—k Elon Musk” on the side of the Strand Union Building — made me curious as to students' opinions on the billionaire. So, as soon as people started to gather, my editor and I rushed to the protest and started asking questions.

In general, the sentiment at the event was oppositional to DOGE and Musk, but some students held different opinions. “Elon Musk and Donald Trump coming in with DOGE has been a really excellent way [government] waste has been getting cut,” said Finley Warden, a recent MSU graduate. Warden is also a member of the Bridger Young Republicans, who tabled at the same time and place as the protest.

“No justice? No peace!” chanted the crowd in between impromptu addresses given by individuals participating in the rally.

“Nobody voted for [Musk],” neuroscience major Evelyn Brittin said. “And I don't think that he should have — I know that he should not have — the power that he does to control our finances. I think that he has no obligation to the American people. And he is someone that has more money than anyone should morally have, in my opinion.”

Warden, however, had a different view. “He's such a complicated guy. That's kind of a hard question. It's so many different things,” he said after being asked how he feels about Musk.

“Obviously I don't really agree with his lifestyle, the way he lives. I think his efforts in DOGE have been really helpful and I think he's probably the only person in the country who could pull something like that off. So, yeah, I'm happy with his efforts in DOGE,” he said.

Most people I talked to were not happy with his efforts, however. “ I think that he is an ego-driven maniac, who [was] put into a position of power without any oversight, any ability to moderate, any constraints. I think we're just now starting to see the consequences of that,” said Joshua Greene, a student at MSU.

“ I think Elon Musk — he is a man who likes his toys, and he's gotta be the coolest kid on the block. As an unelected official in the government, that is not someone we should have in an office he was not voted into,” said Alex Kunesh, a computer science major at MSU.

As the impacts of DOGE cuts begin to affect research institutions like MSU, it's clear that our community is worried about how their daily lives will be impacted. Many students worry about Musk's qualifications, but it seems the issue is less about government efficiency and more about moral concerns — like what it means to have the world's richest man in an unelected position — and accountability in leadership.