Elon Musk advocates to make weight loss drugs ‘super low cost’ to the public

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead DOGE (

Department of Government Efficiency

) has advocated to make

weight loss drugs

cheaper.
Musk, who is part of Trump’s dream of making America great again, recently stressed about improving the health of Americans by making weight loss drugs ‘super low cost’. In a post on X, Elon Musk wrote, “Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan, and quality of life for Americans than making

GLP inhibitors

super low cost to the public. Nothing else is even close.”

The Tesla CEO’s remarks come two weeks after the Biden administration proposed an initiative to push for Medicare and Medicaid coverage for obesity drugs. Biden’s proposal is crucial, as it addresses the growing concern over the inaccessibility of weight loss treatments due to their steep costs. Coverage of weight loss products in Medicare has been prohibited by law for more than two decades.

The weight-loss drugs, also called anti-obesity medications or GLP-1s, mimic the hormone known as glucagon-like peptide 1, which regulates the appetite by communicating fullness between the gut and brain when people eat. The drugs currently available include Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic as well as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro. According to a statement by The White House, “Tens of millions of Americans struggle with obesity. An estimated 42 percent of the U.S. population has obesity, which is now widely recognized as a chronic disease, with increased risk of all-cause mortality and multiple related comorbidities such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, some cancers, and more.”

Though it is unclear how Elon Musk could make the weight loss drugs available at ‘super low cost’, the recent comments hint at a progress down the line. Musk has always been an advocate for improvising health care. In a post on X shared in July, he said, “Vast majority of

healthcare spending

is near end of life and obesity often plays a major role. GLP and other hunger inhibitors might be the single biggest positive effect on healthcare and quality of life in the 21st century.”

Meanwhile, these initiatives stand skeptical, as Trump has picked politician Robert F Kennedy Jr to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is known for his anti-vaccine views and controversial claims about health policy.

On the other hand, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Tesla CEO Elon Musk along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead his new administration’s efforts to increase government efficiency, which he’s calling the ‘Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’.