Mega billionaire Elon Musk, in a friendly interview with his aide and conservative influencer Katie Miller, said his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency were only “somewhat successful” and he would not do it over again.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the social media platform X, still broadly defended President Donald Trump’s controversial pop-up agency that Musk left in the spring before it shuttered officially last month. Yet Musk bemoaned how difficult it is to remake the federal government quickly, acknowledging how much his businesses suffered because of his DOGE work and its lack of popularity.
“We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful,” he told Miller, who previously worked as a DOGE spokeswoman tasked with communicating the agency’s work to the public.
When pressed on whether he would do it all over again, Musk said: “I don’t think so. ... Instead of doing DOGE, I would have focused on my companies.”
Almost wistfully, Musk added, “They wouldn’t have been burning the cars” — referencing consumer protests against Tesla.
Still, Musk noted that his circumstances have improved since parting ways with Trump’s administration. Tesla shareholders recently approved a pay package that could position Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire.
The discussion, which spanned over 50 minutes, also touched on a variety of topics including DOGE, Musk’s thoughts on AI, social media dynamics, and even conspiracy theories. However, Miller did not delve deeply into the inner workings of DOGE or its controversial takeover of federal agencies and data systems.
Musk attributed the efficiency agency's efforts to saving an impressive $200 billion annually from “zombie payments” through improved automation and coding for federal payouts. However, he acknowledged that this figure was significantly less than his earlier ambitious assertions that an efficiency commission could save trillions.
