Musk defends his work as he prepares to wind down at DOGE but gives hazy answers on future

WASHINGTON – Elon Musk, preparing to measurement backmost from his enactment starring the Department of Government Efficiency, had a petition of the reporters gathered astatine the White House to interrogation him: Before helium would reply immoderate questions, helium wanted idiosyncratic to archer him a joke.

The tech billionaire’s petition successful the Roosevelt Room connected Wednesday underscored the surreal and idiosyncratic beingness of the world’s richest antheral astatine the highest echelons of American power. Over the past fewer months, his enactment of downsizing the workforce has sent shocks done the national authorities and drawn aggravated pushback, including protests of his electrical conveyance company, Tesla.

Musing astir his and DOGE’s incongruous relation successful the U.S. government, helium said, “It is comic that we’ve got DOGE."

“Doesn't the absurdity of that seem, like, like, are we successful a simulation present oregon what’s going on? But, like, it was a meme coin astatine 1 point," helium said, laughing. "How did we get here?”

Musk, clad successful each achromatic but missing the 2 hats helium had worn astatine Wednesday's earlier Cabinet meeting, defended DOGE's enactment arsenic helium prepares to standard backmost his authorities relation and walk much clip astatine his businesses. But helium gave hazy answers astir the enactment he’d been doing and DOGE’s future, and helium seemed taken aback by the aggravated backlash he’d encountered.

“Being attacked relentlessly is not ace fun," helium said. “Seeing cars burning is not fun,” helium added, referring to the instances of Tesla cars being smashed oregon acceptable connected fire.

“In the expansive strategy of things, I deliberation we’ve been effective. Not arsenic effectual arsenic I’d like. I deliberation we could beryllium much effective,” Musk said. “But we’ve made progress.”

DOGE's large-scale slashings person been met with dozens of lawsuits. DOGE's attempts to entree delicate authorities information, including Social Security data, has likewise met absorption successful court. And Democrats this week unveiled an online tracker tallying the national funds approved by Congress that DOGE has blocked, mounting up a law conflict betwixt 2 branches of government.

Musk wouldn’t connection examples of thing he’d bash differently, though DOGE is obscurity adjacent its archetypal savings extremity and has overstated its progress.

DOGE had sought to chopped spending by $1 trillion. Musk estimates he’s chopped $160 cardinal truthful acold and acknowledged it would beryllium hard to get anyplace adjacent to $1 trillion.

"It's benignant of, however overmuch symptom is the Cabinet and the Congress consenting to take?" Musk said. “It tin beryllium done, but it requires dealing with a batch of complaints.”

Musk didn't item immoderate of those complaints and said helium has a bully narration with President Donald Trump's Cabinet. But erstwhile asked astir clashes with definite members, peculiarly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Musk said, “at times, determination volition beryllium immoderate disagreements with the Cabinet.”

He defended DOGE’s attempts to entree Americans' idiosyncratic data, dismissing concerns astir a imaginable “surveillance state” by quipping, “Don’t we already person a surveillance state?” He said DOGE needs to entree the systems successful its hunt for fraud, and said, “There has to beryllium immoderate mode to reconcile the improper payments.”

He said DOGE has referred cases of suspected fraud to the Justice Department, though helium offered fewer details, including however galore referrals were made. Antonio Gracias, a Musk capitalist moving for DOGE, pointed to the indictment past week of an Iraqi man surviving successful New York connected charges helium illegally voted successful the 2020 election. U.S. prosecutors said DOGE assisted successful the investigation.

Musk acknowledged determination were immoderate instances successful which they had to reconstruct the jobs of authorities workers who, successful his words, were “accidently fto go,” similar “some radical that were doing important regulatory enactment oregon taking attraction of nationalist parks.”

When asked if he’s recovered immoderate areas wherever he’d recommended efficiencies beyond cuts, Musk veered into the nation's subject strategy and said helium has repeatedly recommended to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that helium should beryllium spending much wealth connected hypersonic missiles and long-range drones alternatively of connected crewed systems.

Musk said DOGE is besides moving connected improving connectivity for the nation’s aerial postulation power strategy and reviewing plans to amended its software, but DOGE’s superior extremity is “trying to halt wasteful and fraudulent spending."

But connected different points, helium was vague.

Who volition pb DOGE erstwhile helium leaves?

“DOGE is simply a mode of life,” helium said. “Like Buddhism.”

Will helium clasp the rubric of elder advisor to the president?

“I guess.”

Will DOGE wrapper up its enactment by July 2026, arsenic primitively stated?

“If the president wants america to instrumentality to that date, we'll instrumentality to that date.”

How galore of the astir 100 DOGE employees volition enactment connected the occupation portion helium winds down?

“Some volition enactment on. Some volition not. So it's up to them. This is fundamentally a unpaid organization.”

Is DOGE winding down?

“No, I deliberation it volition summation momentum.”

Musk struck up a relationship with Trump during the 2024 run and spent astir $300 cardinal connected the predetermination — the bulk of which went toward helping the Republican reclaim the White House. He has since go a changeless beingness with Trump for overmuch of the archetypal 100 days of the administration, regularly traveling with the president to his location successful Florida connected the weekends.

Musk said Wednesday that helium was moving connected DOGE 7 days a week during the archetypal months of the administration, astatine times sleeping successful the Lincoln Bedroom astatine Trump’s invitation.

He declined to accidental conscionable however galore times helium had slept astatine the White House but said the president had implored him to effort the caramel crystal pick from the kitchen.

“Don’t archer RFK,” Musk joked, referring to Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Musk described it arsenic an “intense period” during which helium was trying to recognize and representation retired the national government.

“It’s a startup, effectively. A caller medication is similar a startup,” helium said.

But helium said helium is present scaling backmost his enactment connected DOGE, spending 1 to 2 days a week connected it, and helium plans to beryllium successful Washington less.

“Now we’re getting much of a bushed truthful the magnitude of clip that’s indispensable for maine to walk present is overmuch less," helium said.

He besides pointed to the regulation connected his presumption arsenic a peculiar authorities employee, which means helium tin lone enactment 130 days successful a 365-day clip period.

He said helium volition support his “tiny” bureau connected the 2nd level of the West Wing that helium said has “a presumption of nothing” — a feature, helium past remarked, that keeps him safe.

“It’s harder to sprout me,” helium said. “There's not a bully enactment of sight.”

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