Elon Musk: “If this continues, the country will go become de facto…”

“$2 trillion deficits, the interest rates, just the interest on the national debt now exceeds the Defence Department spending. We spend a lot on the Defense Department, but we're spending like over a trillion dollars on interest. If this continues, the country will go become de facto bankrupt. It's not an optional thing. It is an essential thing. That's the reason I'm here and taking a lot of plaque and getting a lot of death threats, by the way.” (01:29–01:34)

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.