Musk Supports Forcing TV Stations to Pay for Spectrum Licenses

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2024 – Elon Musk is using his X social media platform to advocate for a major change in communications policy: Force many, if not all, TV stations off the airwaves by auctioning off their federally licensed spectrum.

Musk, in response to an X post that called for a TV spectrum auction in which station owners could also participate, said, “The legacy broadcast networks are using public spectrum, but act as an extension of the Democratic Party. No more free lunch for them.”

The idea for a spectrum auction came from the co-host of the All-In Podcast, David Sacks. Congress has authorized TV stations spectrum auctions but not in a manner that would force all of them off the air – the approach Sacks seemed to be suggesting and Musk was endorsing.