Elon Musk compared himself to Buddha as he sat down at the White House with reporters and answered what will happen to DOGE if he steps down.
“Is Buddha needed for Buddhism,” the Donald Trump aide said when asked about who will become the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in his absence, stressing that federal cost-cutting efforts would continue as usual no matter what.
“Was it not stronger after he passed away,” the Washington Post quoted him as saying.
“DOGE is a way of life,” he said. “Like Buddhism.”
Will Elon Musk retain the title of senior adviser to the president, he was asked.
“I guess,” he answered as he sat with reporters on Trump’s 100 days at office.
Will DOGE wrap up its work by July 2026, as originally stated?
“If the president wants us to stick to that date, we’ll stick to that date.”
How many of the roughly 100 DOGE employees will stay on the job while he winds down?
“Some will stay on. Some will not. So it’s up to them. This is basically a volunteer organisation.”
“No, I think it will gain momentum,” Musk stated.
Elon Musk ‘willing to contribute’
Speaking with reporters in the Roosevelt Room on Wednesday, Elon Musk said that he will be still willing to contribute to the government’s decisions even after his role a special government employee officially expires on May 30.
“I’m willing to contribute on average, one to two days a week, which, you know, probably means coming to DC every other week for three days, type of thing. As indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do it,” he was quoted as saying by New York Post.
“Obviously, if the president or the Cabinet has an emergency that they want me to respond to then, I’ll do that. But otherwise, it’s just, I think it’s pretty manageable with one to two days on average,” he added.
Elon Musk has been preparing to step back from his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency
Watching Teslas burn not fun: Musk
Elon Musk gave hazy answers about the work he’d been doing and DOGE’s future, and he seemed taken aback by the intense backlash he’d encountered.
“Being attacked relentlessly is not super fun,” he said. “Seeing cars burning is not fun,” he added, referring to the instances of Tesla cars being smashed or set on fire.
“In the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I’d like. I think we could be more effective,” Musk said. “But we’ve made progress.”
DOGE had sought to cut spending by $1 trillion. Musk estimates he’s cut $160 billion so far and acknowledged it would be hard to get anywhere close to $1 trillion.
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