Elon Musk admits he wouldn’t take on DOGE again—despite calling it 'somewhat successful.'
That’s right. Tesla’s CEO and billionaire innovator Elon Musk recently reflected on his time leading the U.S. government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a Trump-era initiative aimed at cutting costs and shrinking bureaucracy. And while Musk acknowledged the project achieved some limited success, he now says it’s not something he’d repeat. But here’s where things get interesting…
During a podcast conversation on Tuesday with former Trump administration official Katie Miller, Musk described DOGE’s journey as “somewhat successful” but ultimately not worth the backlash. He said that instead of spearheading that initiative, he should have stayed focused on his companies—because, as he put it, “then they wouldn’t have been burning Teslas in protest.” The remark refers to the wave of vandalism and outrage Tesla faced when Musk became a visible political figure.
To give a bit of context: Musk, a major donor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, became one of the administration’s most influential advisers early in Trump’s second term. His team, DOGE, was tasked with a bold mission—to dramatically reduce government spending and workforce size within just the first five months of the term. Ambitious? Definitely. But not without consequence.
Musk explained that DOGE did manage to stop significant amounts of wasteful spending, eliminating what he described as nonsensical and inefficient funding. “We were a little bit successful,” he admitted, emphasizing that although they achieved some wins, the scope of reform wasn’t as groundbreaking as planned. Still, he maintained that the effort helped expose just how much unnecessary expenditure was deeply embedded in federal operations.
However, the role came with a heavy price. Many investors and Tesla fans criticized Musk for diverting too much attention away from his businesses, especially as Tesla faced slowing sales. The controversy intensified when Musk and Trump had a very public falling out earlier this year over a sweeping tax and spending bill—a clash that made headlines worldwide. Though there have been whispers of a potential reconciliation, nothing concrete has emerged.
Ultimately, DOGE was quietly disbanded eight months before its official mandate expired, according to Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management. While the unit claimed to have cut tens of billions in federal expenses, outside experts were never able to verify those figures, since DOGE provided little public accounting of its results. And that’s the part that still divides opinion—did DOGE truly deliver meaningful savings, or was it more political theater than measurable success?
So here’s the question: Was Musk right to walk away from government reform and return to focusing solely on his private ventures—or should visionary entrepreneurs play a bigger role in shaping how governments run? What do you think—did DOGE fail, or did it achieve exactly what Musk set out to do?
