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For more than a month, Elon Musk has been eyeing a position leading a task force under a hypothetical Trump administration. Now it appears his role has been relegated to “writing software” to help reduce the federal budget, according to the co-chair of former President Donald Trump’s transition team.
“He will border on (the government). I think next to it: write software for the government and then give the software to the government and help the government,” says Cantor Fitzgerald, CEO Howard Lutnick. told CNN Wednesday evening. “It’s going to be great.”
That’s a major shift from previous public discussions about the potential commission, which Musk reportedly pitched to the former president months ago. The name, the Department of Government Efficiency, is a reference to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, DOGE. The group would be tasked with auditing the “entire” federal government and recommending reforms. Trump said last month.
“Elon, because he is not very busy, has agreed to lead that task force,” Trump told the New York Economic Club. “It would be interesting, if he has the time he could do well. But he agreed to do it.”
Just a few days ago, Trump told Fox News that “Elon has many roles he could fill.” He previously put forward the idea We him ‘secretary of cost savings’. Musk, for his part, has said there is no need for a “title” or reward, but that he would like the hypothetical job.
On Sunday, Musk said during a call with Lutnick in New York that he would “at the very least” quit $2 trillion of federal spending, something that would be difficult to do without breaking some of Trump’s campaign promises. It’s unclear what “software” Musk could write that would wipe out so much spending, nor how he would have the time to do so while managing his portfolio of companies.
The federal government has spent money $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024, according to the Treasury Department. More than half of that spending went to Social Security and Medicare — which Trump has said he will not do.cut off a penny‘ – as well as interest on federal debt and defense.
Lutnick told CNN on Wednesday that Musk “can’t sell” SpaceX or TeslaTSLA-3.01%), which he would probably have to do to get a job in the Trump administration. Experts largely agree that Musk would have to divest his assets or otherwise distance himself from some potential conflicts of interest, such as former Exxon Mobil (XOM+0.07%) CEO Rex Tillerson did when he joined Trump’s first administration.
Tesla and SpaceX jointly received more than 15 billion dollars in government contracts and often come into conflict with regulators. Musk has suggested using the Trump administration’s role to streamline the rules for approving autonomous vehicles and, more broadly, simplify regulations.
