The Republican wants the tycoon to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and audit the federal government
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, pledging to save American taxpayers trillions of dollars if Trump wins re-election.
Despite previously claiming political neutrality, Musk has shown support for Trump in recent months, publicly endorsing him after the first assassination attempt. In response, Trump promised to establish a “government efficiency” commission headed by Musk if he wins the November election.
As he took the stage in New York on Sunday, Musk was asked, “How much do you think we can cut from this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?”
“I think we can do at least $2 trillion,” Musk responded, drawing loud cheers from the crowd. “At the end of the day, all government spending is taxation. Whether it’s direct taxation or government spending, it either leads to inflation or becomes direct taxation.”
Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that! We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook!
When Trump proposed creating DOGE, he said it would be an independent entity “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for the drastic reforms we need.”
Neither Trump nor Musk has outlined how the panel would function or which specific policies it would eliminate or implement.
Musk has repeatedly warned about U.S. debt, stating last week that the country is heading towards bankruptcy and will quickly go bust if Washington doesn’t control spending.
In September, he wrote that every trillion dollars of debt added is money that “our kids and grandkids are going to have to pay somehow.” If debt continues to grow at this pace, Musk warned, the US will be trapped in a vicious cycle where “the only thing we’ll be able to pay is interest.”
Earlier this month, Musk told American journalist Tucker Carlson that he has bet “all in” on Donald Trump winning the US presidential election in November; if Trump loses, he is “f**ked” and will likely end up in jail.