Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter {beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story  What a Trump win could mean for Musk's businesses  Elon Musk is wearing multiple hats this election season, sparking questions about how his dual role as a tech leader and vocal surrogate for former President Trump could lead to conflicts of interest. © AP Photo/Evan Vucci Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, holds government contracts worth billions of dollars with more than a dozen federal agencies.   While Trump has waffled on whether Musk would be a part of his second administration, the tech magnate has been floated to lead a panel focused on cutting government costs.   Former government officials and ethics experts suggest Musk’s leadership of a new “government efficiency commission,” which could oversee the agencies that grant government contracts and subsidies to Musk-owned companies, could risk the panel’s objectivity and fairness.   Regardless of whether Musk takes on an actual role in the administration, the “optics” of his alliance with Trump will raise questions for voters, according to John P. Pelissero, the director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.    “A reasonable individual can look at a situation such as that of a very wealthy individual who has government contracts coming into the government where he would be put in a position where he could influence current and future contracts and regulations of his businesses,” he said.     A New York Times analysis published Monday found Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, and aerospace firm SpaceX have inked $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade.     NASA and the Department of Defense have the largest contracts with SpaceX, equal to $11.8 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, over the past 10 years, according to the analysis.     Space Force, the military branch formed under Trump, is a major supplier of these contracts. Just last week, the branch awarded SpaceX more than $733 million for a new batch of rocket launches.     NASA is an even bigger supplier of grants as it becomes increasingly reliant on SpaceX for government space programs, while Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla, receives millions in government subsidies.    Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.   Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:   OpenAI hires first chief economist OpenAI hired its first-ever chief economist to examine the economic impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), the ChatGPT maker announced Tuesday.  Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, a professor of business and public policy at Duke University, will take on the new role at the AI firm, leading research into how the technology could affect economic growth and job creation.  “My career has focused on studying how innovation and entrepreneurship …  Full Story   Tech giants press Congress to codify AI Safety Institute A coalition of more than 60 tech companies and industry groups, including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, urged congressional leaders Tuesday to pass legislation permanently authorizing the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute by the end of the year.  In a letter led by the Information Technology Industry Council and Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), the coalition called on Congress …  Full Story   Meta again testing facial recognition software to fight ‘celeb bait’ scams Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is testing facial recognition software to combat “celeb bait” scams on its platforms, as well as to allow users to more easily regain access to their accounts.  The tech giant plans to use the technology to identify “celeb bait” ads, which use images of public figures in ads that lead people to scam websites where they are asked to share personal information or send money.  …  Full Story   The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:   'Blade Runner 2049' producer sues Tesla A production company for "Blade Runner 2049" is suing Tesla for allegedly misappropriating the film's brand to promote the electric vehicle company's new robotaxi, The Hollywood Reporter reported.   Microsoft, OpenAI to give $10M to news outlets Microsoft and OpenAI are providing up to $10 million in grants to news outlets, including Newsday, The Minnesota Star Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer, to try out artificial intelligence (AI) tools, The Verge reported.   On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Tesla is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will host a panel on "The Conservative Weaponization of Government Against Tech" at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.    What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Texas sees record early-voting numbers, particularly in Democratic-leaning areas Record numbers of Texans turned out Monday for the first day of early voting — numbers that were particularly concentrated in several of the state’s … Read more September Border Patrol encounters lowest since the pandemic Fewer migrants were apprehended between ports of entry at the southern border in September than in any month since August of 2020, according to new … Read more     You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Technology newsletter Subscribe