CaliToday (10/12/2025): In a stunning admission, the tech mogul reveals that despite saving billions in federal waste, the "scorched earth" retaliation against his companies including burning Teslas was a cost he wouldn't pay again.
Billionaire Elon Musk, the architect behind President Trump’s ambitious "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), dropped a bombshell during a podcast interview on Tuesday. Despite his pride in the commission's achievements, Musk confessed that if he could turn back the clock, he would not have accepted the role.
The reason? The brutal political blowback that spilled over from the halls of Congress to the showroom floors of Tesla.
A Partial Victory: Hunting "Zombie Payments"
Speaking on The Katie Miller Podcast, Musk defended the work of his DOGE team. Tasked by President Trump with identifying $2 trillion in federal savings, Musk revealed that the initiative successfully identified and halted between $100 billion and $200 billion in annual waste.
Musk referred to these as "zombie payments"—government funds automatically flowing to expired programs, dead recipients, or completely redundant agencies.
"We stopped a massive bleed," Musk stated. "From a purely technocratic standpoint, it was a success. We did what no one else had the courage to do."
The "Burned Cars" and Broken Glass
However, when asked if he would do it all over again knowing the outcome, Musk’s answer was a definitive "No."
He detailed the heavy toll his political involvement took on his primary business empire, specifically Tesla. By aligning himself with Donald Trump to slash the federal budget, Musk became "Public Enemy No. 1" for the political far-left.
Physical Attacks: Musk referenced incidents where Tesla showrooms were vandalized and vehicles were set on fire by protesters.
The "Tax": He described the backlash as a distraction that pulled his focus away from innovation.
"If I hadn’t done DOGE, Teslas wouldn't be burning," Musk lamented. "I should have focused entirely on my companies. I sacrificed a lot to do this."
Touching the "Third Rail"
Musk offered a grim lesson on the nature of Washington D.C. He explained that DOGE wasn't just an audit; it was a disruption of the "money stream" that powers the political ecosystem.
"When you get between the government and the money flow, retaliation is a certainty," Musk explained. "We touched the third rail. We cut off the gravy train for a lot of powerful interests, and they struck back at my businesses."
DOGE Lives On
While Musk steps back, expressing a desire to return to Mars colonization and AI development, the initiative he started remains active.
House Republican leaders have vowed that DOGE is "not dead." Legislators are currently working to codify the "Musk Cuts" into the 2026 federal budget, aiming to reach that elusive $2 trillion target even without the billionaire at the helm.
For Musk, however, the experiment in government reform serves as a cautionary tale: In the polarized era of 2025, civic duty can come with a devastating corporate price tag.
Source: Fox News