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Elon Musk said that Democrats are attacking him because he wants to expose financial mismanagement while responding to a separate post.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to slash government spending and has tasked Elon Musk and DOGE with carrying out that effort. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk said his cost-cutting drive and efforts to increase government efficiency is a tool to expose financial mismanagement in the US and claimed that the Democrats are trying to kill him for doing so.
“And they want to kill me for doing so. That’s how you know it’s a big deal,” Musk said. He was responding to a post on X, the social media site he owns, while responding to Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav), an X account that post pro-Elon and pro-Donald Trump post while also posting on topics related to American economy and finance.
The account had originally posted: “Let’s say this in a simple way maybe the Democrats will understand… Elon is not coming for your cash. He is exposing those who are mismanaging your cash”. Elon expressed his approval for the post using a bull’s eye emoji.
And they want to kill me for doing so. That’s how you know it’s a big deal.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
Elon Musk said US federal workers had “another chance” to justify their work or lose their jobs, as the original deadline passed Tuesday with staff at multiple federal agencies told to disregard his request.
Musk, the world’s richest person and US President Donald Trump’s biggest donor, had originally given federal government employees until the end of Monday to explain their work achievements in an email.
The demand represents the latest challenge from Musk against government workers as his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) works toward gutting federal staffing and spending.
“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” Musk said Monday evening on X, which he owns.
“Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” he added, without providing a new deadline.
The deadline came and went with much confusion among an already anxious workforce after several US federal agencies — including some led by prominent Trump loyalists — told staff to ignore the email, at least temporarily.
DOGE, a wide-ranging entity run by the tech entrepreneur, has faced increasing resistance on multiple fronts to its cost-cutting campaign, including court rulings and some pressure from lawmakers.
As confusion over what to make of the threat spread, Trump had defended Musk’s Saturday message, calling it “ingenious” as it would expose whether “people are working.”
“If people don’t respond, it’s very possible that there is no such person or they’re not working,” Trump told reporters.
Non-responders would be “sort of semi-fired” or fired, Trump added without explaining his thinking further.
Musk on Monday said Saturday’s email “was basically a check to see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email.”
“This mess will get sorted out this week. Lot of people in for a rude awakening and strong dose of reality. They don’t get it yet, but they will,” he added on X.
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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
