By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he believes that the Department of Government Efficiency, which he led until last week, became a “whipping boy” in Washington and indicated that some of the criticism lodged at the task force was unfair.
Last week, as Musk’s time as a special government employee in the Trump administration came to an end, he held a joint news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss his next plans.
In an interview published on Sunday, Musk told CBS News, “What was starting to happen was that — like, it’s a bit unfair because DOGE became the whipping boy for everything.
“So, if there was some cut — real or imagined — everyone would blame DOGE.
“I’ve had people think that somehow DOGE is going to stop them from getting their Social Security check, which is completely untrue.”
Musk also defended DOGE’s mission to root out fraud, waste and abuse in the agencies and likened the federal government itself to an oversized Department of Motor Vehicles — an agency that has become infamous for being rife with inefficiency.
The Tesla CEO said he’s “a proponent of smaller government, not bigger government.”
“So, now, if somebody’s a proponent of, you know, more government programs and bigger government, and they see, ‘Hey, DOGE is cutting all these government programs,’ then they’ll be fundamentally opposed to that because they just think the government should do more things,” Musk said. “That’s just a fundamental, I guess, ideological opinion.
“But my frank opinion of the government is that … the government is just like the DMV that got big, OK? So, when you say it like, ‘Let’s have the government do something,’ you should think, ‘Do you want the DMV to do it?’”
Musk said that “it’s not like I agree with everything the administration does,” but he noted that he agrees “with much of what the administration does.”
“But it’s difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention. So then, I’m a little stuck in a bind, where I’m like, well, I don’t want to, you know, speak up against the administration, but I also don’t want to take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing,” he said.
Musk and Trump were amiable on Friday during what was possibly their final news conference in the Oval Office. Trump said that he would still receive advice from Musk and said that DOGE is “his baby.”
During the event, Trump said Musk had led the “most sweeping and consequential government reform effort in generations” with DOGE and suggested that Musk is “really not leaving.”
Musk’s tenure as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire on about May 30, and he told Tesla investors last month that he would be leaving the post in May.
Tesla posted losses in profit and revenue during the first three months of 2025 after politically charged protests, vandalism, and arson attacks against Tesla owners and dealerships because of Musk’s affiliation with the Trump administration and DOGE. About a week ago, Musk wrote in a post on X that he was working “24/7” on his companies, including SpaceX and social media platform X.
Although his position with DOGE has expired, Musk indicated that the department’s work would continue.
“I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job,” he said after accepting a ceremonial key from the president during their media event. “They’re going to continue to be doing an incredible job.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
