Elon Musk slammed any proposal to use taxpayer money to pay for a new venue where the now vacant-RFK Stadium currently stands, with the Washington Commanders potentially calling it home

Elon Musk made it known how he feels about the possibility of the United States government using taxpayer dollars to pave the way for a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.

Currently, the Commanders play at Northwest Stadium, about five miles east from Washington D.C. and has been the home of the NFL team since 1997 when it was first called the Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. The stadium has been panned by many Washington fans for a number of reasons over the years, the biggest of which is its location in Landover, Maryland – a long commute for most that live in Washington, DC proper.

The team has long been speculated to return to the site of its original home, RFK Stadium, located just east of the U.S. Capitol building. The multipupose stadium, which also served as the home of D.C. United of MLS and the Washington Nationals of MLB, has been sitting derelict for years and is currently set for demolition.

With the federal government approving and overseeing many aspects of Washington D.C.’s government, a stipulation in the latest government spending bill allows the city to enter in to negotiations with the Commanders about a potential return to the RFK Stadium site. With the government on the verge of a shutdown, Elon Musk has entered the fray and has targeted this specific provision.

However, Musk made it known on X, the social media platform he owns, that he opposes any deal that utilizes taxpayer funds to turn the now-vacant RFK Stadium to a new venue, potentially the new home of the Commanders. “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on X, which garnered over 124,000 likes on the platform.

And while many of Musk’s followers agree that the government and taxpayer funds should not be used to fund a new stadium where the decrepit RFK Stadium stands, the 53-year-old’s outrage is misguided. On X, some commenters claimed no such provision exists.

Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders call Northwest Stadium home ( 

Image:
Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
“There has never been funding attached [to] the RFK Stadium bill,” one user wrote while also arguing Musk has been a victim of fake news. “Not at the beginning. Not when it was overwhelmingly passed in the house. Not when it cleared a Senate committee. You are falling for one of your own paid checks.”

Indeed, the provision only allows the government to negotiate with the team over the stadium site. It does not enable any sort of spending.

Musk recently was announced as one of the heads of President-elect Donald Trump’s new division called the “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside Vivek Ramaswamy. Though it has “department” in its name, Musk and Ramaswamy will be the heads of an advisory body, serving as outside volunteers and not as official government workers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Musk and Ramaswamy will be tasked with restructuring the federal government, removing regulations to reduce expenditures with the intent of increasing efficiency. How effective the advisory body will be remains to be seen.

That said, regardless of how Musk views taxpayer dollars paying for stadiums, that is ultimately how arenas and stadiums are funded. Teams often ask the public to pay for renovations for stadiums, though it is up to the residents to decide whether or not they want a new stadium, per NBC Sports.

If the public decides not to comply, owners could threaten to relocate the team, which was most recently seen with the owners of the Kansas City Chiefs and those living in the city.