Senator Denounces Musk’s Cuts: ‘Not What Anybody Signed Up For’

Senator Mark Kelly knows Elon Musk better than most Americans do.

Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, is a former NASA astronaut and Navy combat pilot. He used to consult for SpaceX about crew safety, he told me, and sat in on meetings there with Musk. He drove a Tesla for a while, before very publicly returning it this year.

In a way, Kelly embodies the whiplash many Democrats feel when it comes to Musk, and he has emerged as one of the billionaire’s most vocal critics in Washington. With the Trump administration approaching its 100th day tomorrow, I called Kelly to ask him what it’s like to tangle with Musk on X — and what power Democrats really have to unwind the changes Musk has already set into motion.

JB: You are one of many Democrats who have decided to return their Teslas. Do you miss it?

MK: No, no. There’s things I liked about it, which was the performance. The thing is pretty incredible from an acceleration standpoint. It’s the closest thing I can think of to a catapult-shot off the front of the aircraft carrier. Though I was back on the U.S.S. Lincoln about a year ago, in the back of an F-18, and I realized it still is not that close.

It’s fun to drive. What I didn’t like about it is, I was driving less than 200 miles a month, but I was having to charge it every week, constantly thinking, OK, when am I going to plug this car in next time?

Did you replace it with something?

Yeah, I got a Tahoe.

Elon Musk became central to certain aspects of Democrats’ messaging over the past several months. But for you, it’s been a little more personal, because Musk insulted you during an X dispute involving your brother, the astronaut Scott Kelly, about the astronauts at the Space Station — and then he called you a “traitor” after you visited Ukraine.

He called me a traitor for doing my job, essentially, and supporting our ally. It’s almost comical, because if I’m the traitor, well, that means you must be on the side of Russia.