Elon Musk Says He Would Not Do Role in DOGE Again

Elon Musk recently stated that his controversial leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was only “somewhat successful” and admitted, “No, I don't think so. Knowing what I know now,” when asked if he would take the job again. 

Failures of DOGE

The Department of Government Efficiency promised to slash billions from the national budget. Musk embraced the role of being head of DOGE, famously posing at a conservative conference while holding a chainsaw aloft to symbolize his aggressive plan to cut government waste.

Musk’s task force—reportedly staffed by young and inexperienced members—quickly tore through agencies, resulting in the layoff or buyout of over 200,000 federal workers. However, this whirlwind of activity created immediate chaos and distress. While the group proudly claimed to have stopped "entirely wasteful" spending, analysts outside of the administration struggled to confirm these massive savings. An analysis by CBS News found that DOGE overstated the savings of its largest cuts by as much as 97%. For example, DOGE claimed to have saved $6.4 billion by canceling three contracts from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). However, the CBS News report found the actual savings from those contracts was only about $165 million.

Critics argued that the cuts were often driven by political ideology rather than genuine fiscal responsibility, leaving essential services and programs, such as those related to refugee services and nuclear safety, in jeopardy. A study published in the medical journal The Lancet estimated that cuts to foreign aid programs could lead to 14

million deaths in children under five years old. 

Concerns in Profit Rather than People

Musk’s critical re-evaluation of the DOGE experiment, however, stems less from a concern about public policy and more from the significant toll it took on his private businesses. He explicitly stated that instead of leading the cost-cutting initiative, he “would have basically worked on my companies.” This regret was tied to real financial and physical consequences.

During his tenure with DOGE, Musk became a lightning rod for public outrage, which quickly extended to his flagship company. He lamented that if he had focused solely on Tesla, his vehicles "wouldn't have been burning the cars," a reference to a wave of vandalism and arson targeting Tesla dealerships and products across the country by activists protesting his political alignment. The distraction and controversy were so severe that Tesla's shares crashed in their value in the first few months after the initiative began. 

In the end, Musk's grand plan to make the government more efficient proved far more complex and harmful than helpful. His time as the head of DOGE was relatively brief, and DOGE was quietly disbanded with months left on its mandate.