Inside Doge: why Elon Musk’s plan to cut trillions from US spending collapsed

Elon Musk’s short-lived government efficiency drive promised trillions in savings but instead left disruption, lawsuits, and unanswered questions

Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.  Picture: Saul Loeb Getty Images

AS ELON Musk, the world’s richest person, splurged more than $250m (€213m) on Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, the US president commissioned his new ally to oversee a sweeping “efficiency” drive across the federal government.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss, who had no experience inside government, was tasked with eradicating waste and cutting spending as part of the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) — and was quick to stoke expectations.