The backlash against the electric vehicle company has turned violent at times, as its billionaire chief executive parlays his support for President Trump into consequential influence over the federal government.

Elon Musk said Wednesday that he wants to privatize the U.S. Postal Service and Amtrak, according to reports from multiple news outlets. And as the most powerful oligarch in the U.S.—a man who’s been given the chance to unilaterally dismantle whatever he likes under the guise of a pseudo-government agency called DOGE—the billionaire may get his wish soon.

His unusual governing arrangement with President Trump is opening Republicans up to being yoked politically to Mr. Musk, who polls show is broadly unpopular.

Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference, Musk said the state of passenger rail in the US is "embarrassing."