As billionaire Elon Musk prepares to step down from his role as the head of the DOGE, he said that US President Donald Trump is “essential” for America to reach “greater heights”read more
As Tesla CEO Elon Musk
prepares to conclude his run as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he said he does not regret working at the controversial department. While reiterating his support for US President Donald Trump, the billionaire said that the Republican firebrand is “essential” for America to reach “greater heights”.
“I think it was essential for President Trump to win to ensure that America remained great and that we reach greater heights,” Musk said in an interview with Fox News’s Lara Trump that aired on Saturday. During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Musk outrightly supported Trump, after being a donor to former US President Barack Obama.
When asked about why he
switched his alligence, Musk said that he was concerned about former US President Joe Biden’s “most radical-left, crazy administration ever.” “Whoever controlled the auto pen and telepromptor during the Biden administration was the real president,” he said.
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“If President Trump had not won, I think the Democrat campaign to import vast numbers of illegal voters would have succeeded,” Musk averred, adding that America would have risked becoming a “one-party state from which we could never escape.”
“Some people out there may be somewhat sceptical. They may think, ‘Well, there isn’t some Democrat plan to subvert democracy and achieve a permanent one-party, deep blue socialist state.’ I assure you, the more you research it, the more you will see it is true,” he added.
Musk reflects on his time at DOGE
During his interview with Fox News, the SpaceX CEO reflected on his time at Doge, at a time when many has condemned the department’s
cost-cutting efforts. “It’s not been boring, that’s for sure — an eventful year to say the least. At least I didn’t get shot, you know. Look on the bright side,” Musk exclaimed.
“But we have had people shoot up Tesla stores and burn down Tesla cars. I wasn’t expecting that level of violence, really,” he continued. The billionaire claimed that “bad actors” have been targeting him and his team at Doge, which is “somewhat inevitable”.
The department has garnered backlash after it made several consequential and controversial cuts in recent months, including cuts to hundreds of millions in
DEI contracts and efforts to slash federal spending by trimming the federal workforce. Some of these cuts have also been challenged in court.
When asked about what he wants to be known for Musk said: “That I was useful in the furtherance of civilization,” he told Lara Trump. “That I helped move civilization forward, added to the store of knowledge and capability — that I helped understand the universe.”