Musk says DOGE accomplishments were not worth backlash his companies faced
While he said he was proud of DOGE's accomplishments, Tesla founder Elon Musk nonetheless said that they ultimately were not worth the backlash Tesla cars faced from angry activists.
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Elon Musk said during a Tuesday interview that while he was proud of what he accomplished at DOGE, it would have been better if he avoided controversy associated with the group and instead focused on his companies.
The concept of DOGE took Washington — Republicans in particular — by storm earlier this year, when President?Donald Trump?tapped Musk to lead an initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk said at the time that he was committed to finding as much as $2 trillion in savings for the federal government. That goal was not reached by the time Musk reached the end of his tenure, however. All the while, Tesla vehicles, dealerships and factories were being attacked by left-wing activists as backlash for Musk working with the Trump administration.
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Elon Musk stands in the Oval Office to attend a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., May 30, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
On the "Katie Miller" podcast, Musk was asked he thought DOGE was successful.?
"We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful. I mean, we stopped a lot of funding for that really just made no sense, that was just entirely wasteful," he said, citing around $100-$200 billion dollars worth of "zombie payments" per year.
"Would you do DOGE again knowing what you know now?" Miller asked.?
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Elon Musk, who steered President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), wields a chainsaw during an appearance at CPAC, on Feb. 20, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. (GETTY)
"I mean the thing is, like, I think instead of doing DOGE, I would have basically built, you know, worked on my companies essentially," he said. "So and not and the cars would they wouldn't have been burning the cars."
"You gave up a lot to do DOGE," Miller observed.
Musk agreed, noting that when one targets the flow of money amid political corruption, they can expect to face massive backlash.
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Teslas became targets for attacks in protest of CEO Elon Musk's political involvement. (Getty Images)
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