Elon Musk vows to ‘send shockwaves’ after being appointed to Trump’s government

Elon Musk now has a post in the new Donald Trump administration. He will head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with spearheading a “drastic” overhaul of the U.S. government administration alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. The world’s richest man is not messing around “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in a press release, following the announcement by President-elect Donald Trump.

Musk and Ramaswamy are coming to the mission ready to cut thousands of government positions and run the government like a business. The press release likened their mission to the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb.

“I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),” Trump announced in the statement. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies — Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement.”

Despite its governmental title, the Department of Government Efficiency will serve as an advisory body, operating outside of the formal government framework. “It will partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before,” the press release continued. This setup allows Musk to bypass the restrictions and potential conflicts of interest that come with holding public office.

“We will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 trillion dollars of government spending,” said Trump, who faced surging public deficits and federal debt during his first term. The billionaires’ mission comes with a deadline: July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. “A smaller government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America,” Trump said.

Elon Musk has gone so far as to say that $2 trillion in government spending could be slashed, though he has not provided details on how this would be accomplished. Economists remain skeptical of such projections, asserting that such significant cuts would likely require reductions to fundamental social programs, including Social Security.

“We need the Department of Government Efficiency,” Musk said during a recent rally, drawing attention to its acronym, DOGE — a playful nod to Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency linked to Musk that has a dog as its mascot. “DOGE on a bronze plaque. It’s going to be amazing,” he added, before acknowledging that his vision involves large-scale layoffs of civil servants. Musk, whose fortune is estimated at $319 billion, mentioned that the severance packages would be substantial: “‘Look, just go do something else,’ is what we’re going to say. And you’ll get paid for two years,” he said.

This new role grants Musk significant influence over the regulators he has long criticized for hindering the progress of his companies, Tesla and SpaceX. The mission of DOGE is to curb excessive regulation and limit the authority of government agencies. This could work to Musk’s advantage, easing restrictions on autonomous vehicle development — a field where Tesla has clashed with current regulatory bodies — and facilitating the launch of SpaceX rockets. Effectively, Musk could become both a regulator and a deregulator of the regulators.

During a recent Tesla earnings call with analysts, Musk made it clear that he would push for a streamlined federal approval process for autonomous vehicles, avoiding the complex patchwork of state regulations that currently exists. Following Trump’s election victory, Tesla’s stock has surged, pushing the company’s market capitalization past $1 trillion for the first time since 2022. Meanwhile, Musk’s enterprises will continue to benefit from lucrative government contracts.

Vivek Ramaswamy, for his part, ran unsuccessfully in the Republican presidential primaries. From the outset, he positioned himself as a millennial Trump loyalist and ardent supporter of the former president’s policies. When he dropped out, he threw his full support behind Trump, aiming to secure a position within the Trump administration and bolstering his credentials through outspoken advocacy. Ramaswamy has been vocal about his support for extensive public sector layoffs and deep budget cuts, even proposing that 75% of federal employees be cut.

During his primary campaign, Ramaswamy suggested dismantling key agencies, including the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. While abolishing federal agencies typically requires congressional approval, Trump could facilitate mass firings through an executive order to remove protections for federal workers — a move he attempted during his first term but was later reversed by President Joe Biden.

Musk has emerged as one of the unexpected leaders in the presidential campaign. By May, it was already known that Trump intended to involve Musk in his administration should he win. Trump later confirmed that he would task Musk with spearheading a “drastic” reform of the government. Musk himself mentioned this connection during Tesla’s shareholder meeting in June, remarking on his frequent, sometimes inexplicable, calls from Trump: “He does call me out of the blue for no reason. I don’t know why, but he does.”

The South African-born entrepreneur donated $75 million to America PAC, a political action committee he established to support Trump’s campaign, with his contributions eventually surpassing $120 million. Musk publicly endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt against the Republican in Butler, Pennsylvania. In that same city, Musk took part in a Trump rally in the lead-up to the election and echoed Trump’s conspiracy theories on immigration, free speech, and gun rights.

Musk’s campaign efforts continued independently, particularly in Pennsylvania, where his rallies fused political themes with futuristic visions of space travel. One notable event involved a raffle promising million-dollar prizes for registered voters, which drew scrutiny from the Justice Department due to potential legal issues. Despite a lawsuit by the Philadelphia prosecutor, Musk’s team admitted that the selection process was not entirely random, as initially claimed.

He was so active in campaigning for Trump and spreading falsehoods that even President Biden referred to his alleged temporary status as an illegal immigrant when he was a student and worked without a visa. Musk’s involvement in Trump’s campaign extended to major rallies, including one at Madison Square Garden in New York, and he stood alongside Trump at his victory party.

After the election, Musk committed to maintaining his political organization, planning to register Republican voters in strategic districts to strengthen Trump’s position ahead of the midterm elections in November 2026. He also expressed interest in influencing the primaries by supporting candidates aligned with his vision within the Republican Party.

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