Elon Musk Wants To Privatize Post Service & Amtrak: ‘We Should Privatize Anything We Reasonably Can’

During a virtual appearance at a Morgan Stanley technology conference on Wednesday, Elon Musk criticized Amtrak, labeling the government-run railroad as “embarrassing” and asserting that privatization was the sole solution to improve it. However, Musk acknowledged that “a bunch of these things require actions for Congress.”

“I think logically we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized,” Musk said at the conference. “I think we should privatize the Post Office and Amtrak for example… We should privatize everything we possibly can.”

>READ: ELON MUSK CALLS SOCIAL SECURITY ‘THE BIG ONE TO ELIMINATE’

In December, before President Donald Trump was sworn in, he floated the idea of privatizing the USPS, telling reporters at a press conference that privatization was “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard” and that “we’re looking” at it. Trump also told reporters last month that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would “look into” folding the USPS into the Commerce Department.

Since 2007, the Postal Service has racked up losses exceeding $100 billion, with a $9.5 billion deficit in the year ending Sept. 30. However, it recently reported a fourth-quarter profit of $144 million. The rise of email has significantly impacted the agency, leading to an 80% drop in first-class mail volume since 1997. Current volume levels are now the lowest they’ve been since 1968.

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Musk has pushed for privatizing Amtrak before, but critics argue it’s driven by his desire for lucrative government contracts. Privatization could reduce rural routes, raise costs and compromise safety, as profit motives often lead to cost-cutting. Historical examples, like British Rail, show negative outcomes. Amtrak’s success lies in its public service value, offering essential transportation and environmental benefits, making profitability less important than its societal role.

“Amtrak is a sad situation. It’s like, if you’re coming from another country, please don’t use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America,” Musk said. The ownership models of high-speed rail systems around the world differ significantly. In China, they are entirely state-owned, while Japan has mostly privatized its railways. Europe’s approach features a blend of both public and private ownership.

Musk has previously attempted to derail government-funded high-speed rail initiatives. According to Ashlee Vance‘s biography of him, the idea for the Tesla CEO’s “Hyperloop” emerged in 2013 from his “hatred for California’s proposed high-speed rail system,” which he believed would be “the slowest” bullet train and come with “the highest cost per mile.”

Although the Hyperloop project did not take off, Musk’s motivation was “more about showing people that more creative ideas existed” and hoping “with any luck, the high-speed rail would be canceled.”