Musk’s turbulent stint as DOGE Head

As billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk wraps up his time with Donald Trump’s administration, it caps his turbulent four-month run as an unpaid special employee with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His contentious effort to slash spending and reshape the bureaucracy upended the federal government. The Tesla CEO’s short stint saw layoffs, buyout offers, cut in grants and programmes, and several court challenges. Coinciding with Musk’s departure, a federal court has blocked President Trump’s April 2 plan to impose sweeping import tariffs under emergency powers. These orders had introduced a 10 per cent baseline tariff on most goods entering the US and higher duties. The White House has pushed back, but an unsettling sense of chaos presides over the global trade landscape. Musk was Trump’s top donor in the 2024 presidential election campaign. The relationship appears to have cooled since last year. The world’s richest man recently committed to returning 24×7 to his businesses, after Tesla suffered a sharp sales slump in part due to his association with the administration. Musk was not on the same page with Trump over the new levies on China. He has also raised concerns about the President’s sweeping tax and spending cuts package, saying it would raise the US budget deficit and undercut efforts by DOGE. Musk may have courted controversy with his methods and brashness, but there is little to find fault with the basic premise behind the endeavour — that government spending needs fixing, a culture of wasteful expenditure must end and efficiency has to be the desired goal. It’s a truism that applies to governments across the world, especially India. Musk’s departure, of his own volition or otherwise, ends another chapter for the big boys’ club patronised by Trump — a hallmark of his presidency.

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