Elon Musk has looked back on his tenure as a government official, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Earlier this year, the founder of SpaceX, Musk, took on a role as a ‘special government employee,’ serving in the Trump administration as the head of DOGE, an entity established to curtail superfluous government expenditures.
Musk’s appointment coincided with a period of camaraderie with the president, but their relationship deteriorated after Musk publicly criticized Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ shortly before stepping down from his governmental role.
Although some speculated that his departure was due to his outspoken disapproval of Trump’s bill and the ongoing friction between them, Musk hinted at alternative reasons.
At the time of his departure announcement, Musk wrote on Twitter: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Despite Musk’s assertion, DOGE’s mission did not ‘strengthen over time’ as he predicted. The department quietly dissolved in late November, eight months ahead of schedule.
When Reuters inquired about DOGE’s status last month, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor informed the outlet that ‘that doesn’t exist.’ Kupor further explained that DOGE is no longer a ‘centralized entity.’
In the wake of the department’s dissolution, Musk was interviewed by Katie Millar on her podcast.
When asked if he believed DOGE was successful, the Tesla CEO remarked: “We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful. I mean, we stopped a lot of funding that just really made no sense and was entirely wasteful.”
Musk elaborated that there were reportedly $100 – $200 billion in ‘zombie payments’ occurring annually, prompting them to modify the treasury systems to ensure payments required justification before being released.
Millar proceeded with her next query: “Would you do DOGE again knowing what you know now?”
“Instead of doing DOGE, I would have worked on my companies,” Musk responded, effectively indicating ‘no.’
He added that they ‘wouldn’t have been burning the cars’ if he hadn’t participated in DOGE, referring to the protests against Tesla vehicles in response to his governmental involvement.