Elon Musk Flexes His Political Strength as Government Shutdown Looms NYT | Top Stories By: Michael D. Shear, Annie Karni, Ryan Mac and Maggie Haberman 20 December 2024 at 05:29 The world’s richest man led the charge to kill a bipartisan spending deal, in part by promoting false and misleading claims about it. © Doug Mills/The New York TimesElon Musk made more than 150 posts about the bill on X, the social media site he owns.