Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is no stranger to battling with billionaire Elon Musk. While the battles are often about paying taxes, Warren is now taking on the Tesla and xAI CEO over the future launch of X Money.
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Elizabeth Warren Takes on Elon Musk
Since acquiring Twitter, now known as X, Musk has made his intentions to create an everything app that would involve financial services fairly well known. The upcoming highly anticipated launch of X Money is now under increased scrutiny from Warren, with the senator sending a letter to the billionaire.
Warren is the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
The senator alleges Musk may have increased consumer and national security concerns after previously working with Russ Vought to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that would have been responsible for regulating X Money.
“If your track record operating X is any indication of how you’ll operate X Money, consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system may be at risk,” Warren said in the letter.
Warren questions X Money potentially working with Cross River Bank, a bank that was the subject of enforcement action by the FDIC in 2023, calling the bank a “repeat offender.”
“Your failure to operate X in a safe and responsible manner does not breed confidence in your ability to safely expand into consumer finance.”
The senator raises questions about images generated by Grok on X that are sexual in nature, along with the social media platform allowing sanctioned individuals to increase their social media reach and engagement.
“This track record raises serious questions about the privacy, scams and frauds, and illicit finance risks X Money may pose.”
Warren writes that Musk stood to gain from the dismantling of the CFPB and the move may have been a step to benefit X and the future launch of X Money. The senator said Musk also may have worked with the Trump Administration on special rules for stablecoin issuance by private companies such as X, rules that wouldn’t be the same for public companies.
Warren Submits 13 Questions
In her letter, Warren submitted 13 questions for Musk and the X Money team to answer by April 21. Here are Warren’s questions, with some shortened for length:
- What is the launch date for X Money?
- What products and services will X Money offer?
- Does X Money intend to offer 6% APY on deposits? If so, how does it intend to generate revenue sufficient to pay that yield?
- Will Cross River Bank serve as X Money’s bank partner? If so, are you aware of the serious 2018 and 2023 FDIC enforcement actions against the bank?
- How will X Money clearly disclose to consumers that FDIC deposit insurance would not protect them against the failure of X Money?
- Does X Money intend to issue a stablecoin?
- Did you, or any individual working directly on your behalf, have any role in lobbying for a carveout of the GENIUS Act?
- What controls does X Money have in place to prevent scams and frauds?
- What controls does X Money have in place to prevent illicit finance?
- Does X Money intend to surveil and monetize consumer transaction data?
- What other products and services does X plan to offer in the next five years?
- When you tweeted ‘CFPB RIP’ and worked to shutter the CFPB, were you aware that the agency would have jurisdiction over X Money?
- At the CFPB, did you or any DOGE employee access confidential information regarding competitors to X Money?
If Musk does not respond to the questions, Warren has not stated what her next effort will be. With the changes t CFPB and the Trump Administration’s friendly relationship with Musk, Warren and Congress could face difficulties regulating the future of X Money.
Image via Shutterstock
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