Elon Musk Displays on 100 Days of DOGE: Achievements, Controversies, and Future Plans

Washington, DC – Might 2, 2025 – As President Donald Trump’s second time period marks its first 100 days, Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a pivotal determine main the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), a White Home advisory physique tasked with slashing federal spending. In an unique interview on Jesse Watters Primetime on Might 1, 2025, Musk mirrored on DOGE’s achievements, acknowledged its challenges, and outlined its future, whereas asserting plans to cut back his involvement to give attention to his companies. The previous 100 days have been marked by vital cost-cutting claims, authorized battles, public backlash, and allegations of conflicts of curiosity, making Musk’s DOGE tenure one of the polarizing tales of Trump’s early administration. Listed here are the highest headlines surrounding Musk’s 100 days with DOGE.

Musk Claims $160 Billion in Financial savings, however Critics Query Numbers

Musk and DOGE have claimed to avoid wasting $160 billion in federal spending, a determine touted on the DOGE web site and reiterated in Musk’s Jesse Watters Primetime interview. Key actions embrace freezing 470,000 authorities bank cards, canceling contracts like a $1 million grant for alpaca farming in Peru, and dismantling businesses comparable to america Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID). Musk described the bank card system as “loopy,” noting that 4.6 million playing cards accounted for $40 billion in spending final 12 months. Nevertheless, NPR and CBS Information investigations have revealed errors in DOGE’s accounting, together with an $8 million contract mistakenly listed as $8 billion. Analysts estimate that solely $61.5 billion of the claimed financial savings are itemized, with proof for simply $32.5 billion, elevating doubts in regards to the accuracy of DOGE’s “wall of receipts.” Critics, together with Democratic lawmakers, argue that the financial savings are inflated and fail to justify the chaos brought on by mass layoffs and company disruptions.

Mass Layoffs and Company Dismantling Spark Controversy

DOGE’s aggressive cost-cutting has led to the firing of over 100,000 federal staff, together with scientists, public well being specialists, and catastrophe administration specialists, and the efficient dismantling of businesses just like the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB) and the Environmental Safety Company (EPA). A January 28, 2025, e-mail titled “Fork within the Street” provided buyouts to 2 million federal staff, mirroring Musk’s techniques at Twitter in 2022. The Guardian stories that DOGE’s actions, led by a workforce of younger tech engineers and Musk loyalists like Steve Davis, have been likened to a “hostile takeover” of presidency, with federal staff fearing AI surveillance by DOGE. The dismantling of USAID is projected to trigger 176,000 extra deaths, principally kids, in accordance with Boston College, intensifying criticism that DOGE prioritizes cuts over human impression.

Musk’s Conflicts of Curiosity Below Scrutiny

A Senate Democratic report alleges that Musk leveraged DOGE to defend his firms—Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X—from over $2.37 billion in potential penalties throughout 65+ investigations. The report claims DOGE focused businesses regulating Musk’s companies, such because the EPA (for Clear Air Act violations), the Nationwide Labor Relations Board (for union-busting allegations), and the FDA (whose Neuralink reviewers had been fired). The Commerce Division’s modifications to broadband subsidies are set to learn Musk’s Starlink, whereas SpaceX could contribute to Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile protection defend. Musk’s push for a federal authority to approve autonomous automobiles aligns with Tesla’s Cybercab challenge, elevating considerations about self-interest. The White Home has dismissed these accusations as “false and defamatory,” asserting that DOGE’s deregulatory efforts profit all companies.

Public Backlash and Tesla’s Model Injury

Musk’s DOGE position has triggered widespread protests, with the “Tesla Takedown” motion organizing demonstrations at Tesla showrooms globally, from Sydney to San Francisco, on March 30, 2025. Vandalism, together with Molotov cocktail assaults and arson at Tesla dealerships, has escalated, with some homeowners promoting their vehicles or including bumper stickers studying, “I purchased this earlier than we knew Elon was loopy.” Tesla reported a 71% revenue plunge and 9% income drop in Q1 2025, attributed partly to model harm amongst liberal EV consumers, who dominate the market. Eric Schiffer of Patriarch Group advised Newsweek that Musk’s alignment with Trump has harmed Tesla’s status, predicting restoration provided that Musk distances himself from DOGE. Protesters, per a Tesla Takedown assertion, act out of perception in “democracy and the rule of regulation,” not cost, regardless of Musk’s claims of paid agitators.

Musk Scales Again, however DOGE to Proceed

Dealing with Tesla’s monetary struggles and a 130-day restrict as a “particular authorities worker,” Musk introduced on April 23, 2025, throughout a Tesla earnings name that he’ll scale back his DOGE involvement to at least one to 2 days per week beginning in Might, specializing in Tesla’s robotaxi and Cybercab tasks. He described DOGE as a “long-term enterprise” and a “lifestyle,” suggesting it’s going to persist below new management, probably Steve Davis or Anthony Armstrong. Musk advised Axios on Might 1 that DOGE may prolong by means of Trump’s time period till 2028, far past its unique July 4, 2026, termination date. Vice President JD Vance assured reporters that DOGE’s work will proceed, with Musk remaining a “pal and adviser.” Nevertheless, Musk admitted to Axios that DOGE fell wanting expectations, attaining solely 70-80% accuracy in its cuts as a consequence of resistance from “entrenched pursuits” and inadequate congressional assist.

Dogecoin Value Surges Amid DOGE Confusion

Musk’s management of DOGE, named after the meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin, has inadvertently boosted the crypto’s worth. Posts on X present hypothesis that Musk’s DOGE-related tweets, like “D.O.G.E will repair it,” have pushed worth spikes, with whales accumulating almost 1 billion DOGE tokens in January 2025 after Musk’s crypto feedback. A $100 funding in Dogecoin from Musk’s first tweet in April 2019 would now be value $5,474.14, a 5,374.1% return, per Benzinga. Whereas Musk has not confirmed shopping for Dogecoin, his November 2024 endorsement of its flat inflation as a “function” fueled market enthusiasm, intertwining his authorities position with crypto market dynamics.

Public and Political Reactions

American sentiment towards DOGE is deeply divided, per Fox Information Digital interviews in April 2025. Supporters like Darryl in Houston gave DOGE excessive marks for tackling waste, whereas critics like Micah in Washington, DC, gave it an “F,” claiming it “broken our nation’s system of presidency.” Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Mike Flood, defend DOGE’s cuts, however face boos at city halls, paying homage to the 2009 Tea Occasion motion. Democrats and unions have filed dozens of lawsuits, difficult DOGE’s entry to delicate knowledge and unilateral spending cuts, which specialists like Georgetown’s David Tremendous evaluate to Nixon’s 1973 energy grabs. Musk’s personal X posts, like one on February 16 claiming DOGE is stopping “insane ranges of waste and fraud,” have galvanized MAGA supporters however drawn skepticism from moderates.

Trying Forward

Musk’s 100 days with DOGE have reshaped the federal authorities, amassing unprecedented energy whereas sparking authorized, moral, and public relations challenges. As he prepares to step again, Musk stays optimistic about reaching $1 trillion in financial savings, although he admits it requires “political will” from Congress and the cupboard. The Washington Submit stories tensions inside Trump’s workforce, together with a yelling match between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, highlighting DOGE’s disruptive method. Whether or not DOGE can maintain its momentum with out Musk’s full-time management stays unsure, however its impression—each actual and controversial—will outline Trump’s early legacy.

Sources: Newsweek, NPR, The Guardian, CBS Information, Fox Information, ABC Information, The Verge, Axios, The Washington Submit, AP Information, CNN, BBC, Benzinga, Forbes X Postsinternet:0-8,10-13,19-21,23-24post:1,4