Elon Musk makes a stunning admission about DOGE and its plan to save taxpayers $2 trillion
- Musk is co-head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency
Elon Musk doesn’t think he can achieve his goal: cutting $2 trillion from the US budget.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss on Wednesday reversed his earlier projection of how much he could save the US in his new role as co-head of Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Now Musk says he thinks it would be more realistic to aim for half of that $1 trillion goal — a major reversal from his vow just two months ago to save “at least $2 trillion” during a speech at the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.
“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think this is the best outcome,” Musk reiterated in an interview on X with political strategist Mark Penn.
“But I do think you should have a little bit of surplus,” he added. “I think if we try to get $2 trillion (in cuts), we have a good chance of getting one (trillion).”
This admission won’t come as a shock to many who felt the original goal was at least a little ambitious.
“It would be very difficult to save $2 trillion without jeopardizing national security,” House Appropriations Committee member Steve Womack (R-Ar.) told CNBC in December.
Experts say that to get closer to the previous goal, DOGE should look at mandatory spending programs like Medicaid.
Elon Musk admitted on Wednesday that his previous goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget is aspirational, claiming instead that there is a “good chance” of cutting half of that.
Musk is co-leader of Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX boss have been inseparable from Trump since election night in November
Musk, along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a millionaire biotech entrepreneur, are leading DOGE’s austerity efforts.
Congress determines the amount of the federal government’s total discretionary spending each year. The previous approval was $1.7 trillion for the year, half of which was allocated to US defense.
Musk did not say Wednesday where the cuts will come from, but he has in the past suggested some areas he believes are ripe for cuts — such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and aid and financing packages for foreign nations.
X’s CEO emphasized that government spending is “a very targeted environment for saving money.”
‘It’s like being in a room full of targets. You could close your eyes and you wouldn’t miss,” he chuckled.
The DOGE advisory body that Trump created with a deadline of July 4, 2026 aims to reduce government waste and regulation and lower the burden on American taxpayers.
In the past, Musk has admitted that some cuts would cause “hardships” for some Americans. This is likely due to the fact that budget cuts would likely result in the elimination of some jobs at the federal level.