Musk regrets it: Government Efficiency Department has "limited effectiveness", wouldn't do DOGE again if time could go back

Elon Musk Rarely Reflects on the Limited Effectiveness of the US “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), Which He Helped Lead for the White House, and Regrets Getting Involved in Politics.

(Previous context: Elon Musk Returns to the White House to “Shake Hands and Reconcile with Trump,” Attends Banquet with Tim Cook, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jensen Huang) (Background Supplement: Musk Teases “X Money” Launch! Will Users Soon Be Able to Trade Crypto Directly on X?)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on December 10, made a rare self-reflection about his brief tenure at the Trump administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) on “The Katie Miller Podcast.” He described the entire experience as “like a dream” and publicly stated:

If I could go back in time, I would never enter the DOGE office again.

These remarks put a somber end to his nearly year-long, $300 million political trial run supporting Trump.

The $160 Billion Question

DOGE was established in January 2025 after Trump’s inauguration, co-led by Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, with the goal of streamlining massive federal spending. The department claimed externally that through layoffs and project shutdowns, it aimed to save taxpayers $160 billion, roughly NT$5.2 trillion.

However, during the same period, overall US federal spending increased rather than decreased, and the savings figures lacked public details and could not be verified. According to reports, the DOGE department was quietly dissolved with 8 months left in its contract, with some functions returning to the Office of Personnel Management—symbolizing that reform attempts ultimately could not overcome Washington’s inertia.

In the interview, Musk described the results only as “somewhat successful” and admitted to constant clashes with the bureaucracy. He once hoped to reduce the deficit through business logic, but found that “getting involved in politics often ends badly,” and he couldn’t even stop the Trump administration from implementing tariffs he opposed. Ultimately, by May 2025 he had already intended to step back, quietly withdrawing from the core decision-making circle.

The Iron Man Returns to the Business Frontline

After spending $300 million for limited influence, Musk became disillusioned with politics. He said he’d “rather spend time on rockets, electric cars, and brain-machine interfaces,” implying Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink are once again his top priorities.

Looking back at this political experiment that lasted less than a year, DOGE’s ambitious reform slogans ultimately ended with its dissolution. Even with wealth and influence, Musk still hit the wall of Washington bureaucracy; but for investors, his return to being a business leader may bring more certainty than ongoing political entanglement. As he said at the end of the show, “The dream is over, it’s time to get back to building rockets.”

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