Elon Musk’s Pledge to Step Away From DOGE Sounds Like Word Games

Elon Musk sounded extremely depressed connected Tesla’s net telephone Tuesday aft the EV institution reported a 71% driblet successful profits past quarter. But 1 of the large headlines you’re seeing everyplace is this assertion that Musk is leaving his relation successful President Donald Trump’s authorities arsenic the caput of the alleged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). And portion it’s thing Musk truly did say, it’s worthy taking a person look astatine the nonstop words helium used. Because conscionable similar everything other the billionaire oligarch promises, this assertion needs to beryllium treated with immoderate steadfast skepticism.

“The ample slug of enactment indispensable to get the DOGE squad successful spot and moving successful the government, to get the fiscal location successful order, is mostly done,” said Musk. “And I think… starting… astir apt in, adjacent month, successful May, my clip allocation to DOGE volition driblet significantly.”

That’s the quality that everyone seemed to absorption on. Musk is leaving DOGE and going to wage much attraction to his respective companies, including not conscionable Tesla but X and SpaceX. Maybe Musk volition adjacent give much clip to his much neglected ventures similar The Boring Company. But what got little attraction was the enactment Musk followed up with.

“I’ll person to continued doing it for, I think, astir apt the remainder of the president’s word conscionable to marque definite that the discarded and fraud that we stopped does not travel roaring back, which volition bash if it has the chance,” Musk continued.

Musk past elaborated connected however overmuch clip helium volition really beryllium moving connected authorities issues, which helium thinks volition beryllium a time oregon 2 during each week.

“So I deliberation I’ll proceed to walk a time oregon 2 per week connected authorities matters for arsenic agelong arsenic the president would similar maine to bash truthful and arsenic agelong arsenic it is useful,” said Musk. “But starting adjacent period I’ll beryllium allocating acold much of my clip to Tesla and… present that the large enactment of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.”

Musk didn’t code the information that he’s classified arsenic a Special Government Employee (SGE), which allows him to sidestep fiscal and ethical disclosure rules, but has a hard deadline for erstwhile he’s expected to exit from his role. SGEs can’t enactment for much than 130 days successful immoderate 365-day period. Musk has worked astir 90 days arsenic an SGE if we commencement counting from the inauguration connected Jan. 20, but galore radical don’t look to beryllium realizing the tricks Musk could play. What if Musk abruptly decided to accidental that helium wasn’t really moving for the authorities for fractional of those days oregon more? Who’s really going to audit that?

Musk’s insistence that he’s lone going to enactment 1 oregon 2 days a week feels similar he’s showing his cards. Two days a week for 52 weeks successful the twelvemonth brings america to 104 days. And who’s to accidental what counts arsenic “work” successful Musk’s eyes? If helium lone devotes a fewer hours each time to authorities enactment but does that for 7 days a week, does that number arsenic 7 days oregon does helium request to accumulate 24 hours of enactment to number arsenic a afloat day? You tin spot however these guys could play astir with semantics—technically pursuing the missive of the instrumentality portion violating the tone of the law.

Musk often says helium works 14-16 hours per day, but we cognize from his livestreams and reporting from Washington that helium plays a batch of video games. Does his clip playing video games number arsenic enactment if he’s listening to a league telephone oregon thing portion helium does it? There are mode excessively galore loopholes to number astatine this constituent erstwhile you deliberation of however Musk mightiness adhd up his days arsenic a Special Government Employee. The billionaire hasn’t really declared however galore days helium thinks he’s “worked” for the authorities truthful acold this year.

Officially, the Trump authorities insists successful court filings that Musk isn’t adjacent an worker of DOGE, fto unsocial its leader. It’s a bald-faced lie, fixed the information that Trump and Musk ne'er played on with that ridiculous idea. But it presumably insulates Musk from ineligible vulnerability for each the intelligibly amerciable crap he’s been doing. For example, DOGE has wholly abolished the U.S. Agency for International Development, which helium has nary authorization to do. Only Congress tin make oregon dispose of full national agencies.

The audio of Musk talking astir his imaginable exit from the Trump authorities is worth listening to, if lone due to the fact that the written connection doesn’t decently pass conscionable however uncertain the billionaire sounds erstwhile helium was talking connected Tuesday. Musk pauses for agelong periods, sounding incredibly downtrodden and possibly trying to cod his thoughts oregon take his words carefully. We’ve clipped the applicable information beneath and it’s weird to perceive for yourself.

Tesla is intelligibly hurting arsenic a nonstop effect of Musk’s ain choices and however radical presumption his brands. The Tesla CEO has embraced Trump, had a nonstop relation successful destroying the government, and perpetually shares his far-right views connected X. But Musk doesn’t deliberation a rejection of his ideas, and by hold Tesla, could perchance beryllium an integrated show of disgust by the public. The billionaire opened his net telephone by insisting that protesters astatine his dealerships were each paid by nefarious forces who were really conscionable upset that he’s cutting “waste” and “fraud” successful the national government.

“The existent crushed for the protests, the existent reason, is that… those receiving the discarded and fraud privation to proceed receiving it,” Musk said. “That is the existent happening that’s going connected here. Obviously.”

If we’re going to get into what’s “obvious,” it would look overmuch much evident that Musk’s fascism is playing a role. This is the feline who made 2 Nazi-style salutes the time Trump was inaugurated connected Jan. 20. While helium would aboriginal contradict that’s what helium was doing, the immense bulk of radical cognize what they saw.

A protester holds a motion that reads “Mu$k Fires Our Vets” connected April 19, 2024 successful Oceanside, California. © Gizmodo / Matt Novak

Will Musk really measurement distant from DOGE? It’s wholly possible. Especially if the billionaire has outlived his usefulness to Trump. There person been countless reports from wrong the White House that Musk has annoyed Trump, but truthful acold they’ve needed each other to execute their fascist goals. Musk has apt gained unsocial insights into national contracts arsenic helium and his set of DOGE dipshits ransack authorities data. That benignant of god-view entree is beauteous overmuch unprecedented for a backstage contractor who relies heavy connected authorities money. Musk is getting tremendous benefits from Trump, adjacent if helium has to endure immoderate tariffs imposed by the president that harm his concern successful the abbreviated term.

And Trump needs Musk’s governmental instrumentality to support members of Congress successful line. Musk helped get Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed by throwing his wealth and power astir aft determination were signs Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa wouldn’t assistance get Hegseth implicit the decorativeness line. Musk helped money ads that called Hegseth a “patriot” who was a unfortunate of the “deep state,” and urged radical to telephone their senators. It successfully got Ernst to play ball, adjacent if Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine each voted against Hegseth, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the necktie 50-50 vote.

The agelong and the abbreviated of it: We’ll judge Musk is really leaving authorities erstwhile we spot it. Trump and Musk some accidental a batch of things that don’t crook retired to beryllium true. Tesla didn’t respond to an email Wednesday asking for much details astir Musk’s program to supposedly measurement distant from DOGE. But that’s not a surprise, fixed the information that the institution dissolved its media relations section successful 2020. Gizmodo volition update this station if, by immoderate miracle, we perceive back.