The Department of Government Efficiency will no longer consume tech and space billionaire Elon Musk. Musk announced yesterday that he will be slowly stepping away from the government agency to focus more on his own businesses and his goal to put human beings on Mars.
Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has announced he will significantly reduce his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative he led under President Donald Trump’s administration to slash federal spending. The decision, revealed during a Tesla earnings call last week, comes as Musk faces mounting pressure from Tesla investors, a 71% plunge in the company’s first-quarter profits, and growing public backlash over DOGE’s aggressive cost-cutting measures.
Musk’s role as the public face of DOGE began in January 2025, when he was tasked with rooting out government waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Wielding a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Musk vowed to cut “at least $2 trillion” from the federal budget, a promise that captured headlines and will continue to cut in his absence.
DOGE claims to have saved $160 billion.
The initiative, named after the cryptocurrency Dogecoin and an internet meme, has been both celebrated and vilified.
Supporters, including Trump, praised Musk’s team for exposing wasteful spending, with the president’s Cabinet giving Musk a round of applause at a recent meeting.
Ccritics, including Senate Democrats, accuse Musk of using his influence to evade oversight and shield his companies—such as Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink—from $2.37 billion in legal liabilities. A Senate report called this a “conservative estimate,” warning that Musk’s conflicts of interest pose significant risks.
Democrats unleashed their rage on Musk by shooting up Tesla dealers, vandalizing Tesla vehicles, calling for his death, and doxxing owners of Tesla vehicles.