Musk finally admits he got carried away with DOGE - 'I got a little too involved'

Elon Musk has admitted in an interview with The Economist that he "got carried away" in his political role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and he should have instead focused on his companies. The SpaceX CEO told editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes that he got too involved in politics, and knows that he is getting a "lot of flak" for it. His stint in the specially created body under Donald Trump saw him pushing cost-cutting measures that continue to have major repercussions.

Tens of thousands of government workers were laid off, crucial foreign aid was stopped, and sensitive data was leaked. Social Security took a hit and budgets for science were cut. This triggered widespread protests as people displayed their anger against DOGE and its methods. Musk claimed that DOGE would slash $2 trillion from the federal budget. By the time it ended, the body claimed it had generated roughly $215 billion in savings. However, independent watchdogs and analysts disputed this figure, saying there were miscounts and hidden costs.

In fact, it was estimated that severance payouts, legal fees, rehiring expenses, cancelled revenue-generating programs, and IRS enforcement cuts ended up costing the taxpayers between $135 billion and $165 billion.

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Musk said that he “got a little too involved in politics” and “got carried away, frankly,” adding, “And I got a lot of flak from this, for this obviously." He tried to fix things with the people, even though The Economist said that he showed "no sign of relinquishing the geopolitical bully pulpit." He also made more bizarre statements during the interview, such as accusing the media of wrongfully portraying him as a racist, even though he has clearly made statements alluding to it.

Musk's Starship and Mars dream

Musk became a trillionaire for some time when SpaceX launched its initial public offering on June 12 this year. The offering raised over $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in history. The company opened at an enterprise valuation of roughly $1.8 trillion and closed its first trading day valued at over $2.0–$2.1 trillion. Since Musk holds 42 per cent of the shares, plus his 13 to 20 per cent stake in Tesla, his net worth went past the $1 trillion mark.

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But SpaceX's Starship has not been living up to the mark, and its recent launch failed when several of its engines failed to ignite. Musk has been touting it as the next big thing for humanity, which will take a million people to Mars.