In a new episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Musk said DOGE had been a “little bit successful” in its goal of cutting federal spending.
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Elon Musk is opening up on his time at the Department of Government Efficiency in a new interview with former Trump adviser Katie Miller.
In a new episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast,” released Tuesday, Musk said the department, known as DOGE, had been a “little bit successful” in its goal of cutting federal spending and regulations. 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.
Miller, who worked as a spokesperson for DOGE, is married to Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff. Miller and Musk sat in chairs facing each other for a conversation that lasted more than 50 minutes and spanned topics from DOGE to Musk’s thoughts on AI, social media, conspiracy theories and fashion.
“We were somewhat successful,” Musk said. “We stopped a lot of funding that really just made no sense, that was just entirely wasteful. For example, there was probably $100, maybe $200 billion worth of zombie payments per year, which, simply by enforcing that there be a payment code and an explanation for the payment, the payment would not go out.”
Musk reshaped the federal bureaucracy, firing and pushing out thousands of federal workers during his tumultuous tenure. Some government functions were eviscerated, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had provided a lifeline for impoverished people around the world.
When Miller asked whether he would do DOGE again, Musk said he doesn’t think so.
“I mean, the thing is, I think instead of doing DOGE, I would have basically… worked on my companies essentially. They wouldn’t have been burning the cars.”
After Musk took a prominent role in DOGE, attacks on properties featuring the Tesla logo began to sprout up across the U.S. and overseas. The attacks targeted Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars.
Miller did not press Musk on the innerworkings of DOGE and the controversial manner in which it took over federal agencies and data systems.
Since departing Trump’s administration in May, Tesla shareholders approved a pay package that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
Musk has been one of the richest people in the world for several years. He is currently estimated to be worth more than $400 billion by Forbes magazine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
