Elon Musk: I Obey the Rules—But I’ll Fight Any Regulation That Harms the Public Good

Elon Musk: I think it's my obligation to oppose a regulation that doesn't serve the public good.

Andrew Ross Sorkin: “You typically don't like regulation. You've pushed back on regulators for the most part. In the world of Tesla, and there are so many other instances.”

Elon: “One should not take what is viewed in the media as being the whole picture. There are probably 100 million regulations that my companies comply with, and there are probably five that we don't.

If we disagree with some of those regulations, it's because we think the regulation that is meant to do good doesn't actually do good. But it's not defying regulations for the sake of it.

We would not be allowed to put cars on the road if we did not comply with this vast body of regulation. You could fill up the stage with the regulations that you have to comply with to make a car.

If we don't comply with all the regulations for rockets or for Starlink, they shut us down. So, in fact, I am incredibly compliant with regulations.

Once in a while, there'll be something that I disagree with for the reason that I think the regulation in that particular case, in that rare case, does not serve the public good.

Therefore, I think it is my obligation to object to a regulation that is meant to serve the public good but doesn't. That's the only time I object. Not because I seek to object. In fact, I'm incredibly rule-following.”

Source: New York Times DealBook Summit, November 28, 2023