Elon Musk says he would not lead the DOGE project again, calling it only ‘somewhat successful’ after backlash and vandalism against Tesla.
SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated he would not lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project again.
Speaking on a podcast, Musk described the initiative as only “somewhat successful”.
The billionaire was a major donor to former President Donald Trump’s campaign and a close adviser.
He led the DOGE team aiming to cut the federal budget and workforce early in Trump’s second term.
The role sparked a significant backlash against both Musk and Tesla.
This included incidents of vandalism against Tesla vehicles.
“I think instead of doing DOGE, I would have basically worked on my companies,” Musk said on the podcast with former Trump official Katie Miller.
“And they wouldn’t have been burning the cars.”
He claimed the team stopped a lot of funding that was “entirely wasteful”.
When asked if he would lead DOGE again, Musk replied, “No, I don’t think so.”
His work for DOGE also raised investor concerns he was neglecting Tesla during a sales slowdown.
Musk and Trump had a public falling out midyear over a major tax and spending bill.
There have since been some signs of reconciliation between the two.
The DOGE unit has disbanded with eight months left in its mandate.
Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor confirmed this to Reuters earlier this month.
DOGE claimed to have slashed tens of billions in expenditures.
Outside experts could not verify this due to a lack of detailed public accounting. – Reuters
