In an interview with Fox’s Larry Kudrow on Monday, billionaire Elon Musk acknowledged that involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Donald Trump’s initiative to reduce federal spending, has made it difficult for X, Tesla, Xai, SpaceX, The Borring Company and Starlink to run.
“How do you run other businesses?” Kudlow asked at one point.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” Musk replied. “Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here.”
Musk and Doge have around 100 staff members (the number Musk expects to climb to 200), but have been criticized for not overestimating spending cuts across the US government agency. Government contract experts say Doge’s online cuts record contains inaccurate information and inflates the claims of “savings” by including misleading mathematics about contract cancellations.
According to cybersecurity analysts, Doge also puts US data and computing infrastructure at risk through its work. Doge staff with little experience working with government systems reportedly accessed agency data through unstable means and copied it to an unsecured server.
Musk complains that his work advising Doge has thinned him out, but the billionaire has been accused of using initiatives to undermine regulations overseeing his business ventures.
Doge has hampered the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which is ready to expand surveillance of its peer-to-peer payment system, including X’s upcoming virtual wallet products. Staff at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which opened the probe to the dangers pose by Tesla’s assistive driving technology, has been cut. Elsewhere, Doge fired a probation employee at Federal Aviation Administration. And Doge is calling for a critical staff cut at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where Musk has a long-term feud.
When asked if Kudlow would expand his involvement in Doge in “a different year,” Musk said “Yeah.”
“I just got things done, not writing a report,” Musk added. “So, reports mean nothing. You actually have to take action.”
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