Musk praises Draghi, calls for less EU red tape

Mario Draghi has an unexpected fan: Elon Musk.

The controversial founder of Tesla and owner of X praised the former European Central Bank chief today for urging Brussels to simplify and reduce EU regulation.

“Mario Draghi’s critique is accurate,” Musk posted, adding that “a thorough review of EU regulations to eliminate unnecessary rules and streamline activity in Europe would revitalize growth and strengthen competitiveness.”

In a report unveiled today, Draghi proposed assessing existing EU rules at the beginning of each European Commission mandate to ensure that European companies aren’t penalized by excessive regulation.

“This process should include simplifying and removing overlap and inconsistencies across the whole ‘legislative chain,’ with priority given to those economic sectors where Europe is particularly exposed to international competition,” Draghi, who’s also a former Italian prime minister, wrote in his report.

He also proposed to appoint a dedicated new “Commission Vice President for Simplification” to oversee the process.

In the past, France and Germany have also repeatedly called on Brussels to reduce the so-called regulatory burden. Outgoing French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire proposed to adopt a dedicated EU directive to simplify existing rules and cut red tape across different sectors.

Musk’s aversion to EU rules isn’t surprising; last year, the Commission launched a probe into X’s compliance with the bloc’s content moderation rulebook, the Digital Services Act.

“Things should be default legal, rather than default illegal,” Musk argued in his post in support of Draghi, whom he also quietly met in Rome last year.