Billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, said on Monday (Feb 3) that President Donald Trump agrees that the US Agency for International Development needs to be “shut down”.

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“With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it with (the president) in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said in an X Spaces conversation.

Musk said that he discussed with Trump “a few times” if he wanted to shut down the agency and got confirmation from him.

"It became apparent that it's not an apple with a worm in it," Musk said. "What we have is just a ball of worms. You've got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It's beyond repair. ... We're shutting it down."

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USAID works towards humanitarian relief and development across the world, dispensing billions annually.

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‘Criminal organisation’

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Earlier on Sunday (Feb 2), Musk attacked the agency, saying it is a ‘criminal organisation’ and also suggested that it is wasteful spending. The billionaire leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is tasked to reduce government spending.

“USAID is a criminal organisation,” Musk wrote on his platform X in response to a video alleging USAID is involved in “rogue CIA work”.

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In another post, the biggest supporter of the Republican wrote, “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people?”

Musk did not elaborate on the allegations.

‘Run by radical lunatics’

Trump has also expressed a similar opinion on the matter, saying that USAID has “been run by a bunch of radical lunatics.

“We’re getting them out... and then we’ll make a decision (on its future),” Trump said Sunday (Feb 2). 

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The US president also showed support for the billionaire, telling reporters that he feels Musk is “doing a good job”.

Uncertainty for agency

Trump initially froze aid spending for three months. Although he issued waivers for food and other humanitarian aid to go on, aid workers have expressed that uncertainty looms over the future of the organisation as an independent agency.

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On Saturday (Feb 1) the website of USAID went offline without giving any explanation.

(With inputs from agencies)