Members of Elon Musk’s security detail have been deputized by the US Marshals Service, as fears about the billionaire’s safety grow.
The move will allow the deputized members specific rights and protections normally afforded to law-enforcement agents.
They will be allowed carry weapons on federal grounds. The deputization also makes the detail legally liable in certain cases. It will run for a year and can be renewed.
Despite his close proximity to the President, and the centrality of his efforts as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to the Trump agenda, Elon Musk does not have a Secret Service detail of his own.
Fears about Musk’s safety have grown in recent weeks as his cuts to federal programs and departments have begun to bite, with outrage swelling among his detractors and those affected directly by the cuts. DOGE is already responsible for tens of thousands of job cuts and billions of dollars of savings.
On Thursday, Musk appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference and responded to questions about his safety.
“Look, I’m open to ideas about improving security, I have to tell you. Like, I don’t actually have a death wish, I think, but it’s not that easy,” Musk said.
The moderator then suggested the Tesla CEO already has an “enormous” security team, to which he replied, “It’s not that enormous. It should be bigger, I don’t know.”
“President [Nayib] Bukele from El Salvador, who managed to put in prison like a hundred thousand murderous thugs, and he called me, ”I am worried about your security,’” Musk said.
“I’m like, ‘Dude, you are worried about my security?’”
Musk said the threats to his person would not deter him.
“We’re fighting the Matrix big time here, but it’s got to be done,” Musk said.