Musk Regrets DOGE Tenure, Notes Limited Success

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, expressed regret over his brief tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency during the early months of President Donald Trump's second term, stating in a podcast interview that the initiative achieved only limited success and diverted his attention from his companies.

In the interview released Tuesday on the Katie Miller Podcast, Musk described the agency, known as DOGE, as "a little bit successful" and "somewhat successful." He credited it with identifying and halting what he called "zombie payments," estimated at 100 billion to 200 billion dollars annually in improper or unjustified federal disbursements. By implementing better coding and explanations for payments, DOGE aimed to prevent waste, Musk said, though he noted initial projections of 2 trillion dollars in savings had been revised downward to about 150 billion dollars for the 2026 fiscal year. The agency originated from informal discussions and adopted its name based on online suggestions, he added.

Musk, who stepped down from DOGE in May after joining at the start of the administration, said he would not take the role again. "Instead of doing DOGE, I would...