Billionaire Elon Musk's role in Trump's future administration

(Dan Tri) - Billionaire Elon Musk was trusted by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a completely new agency that will support his upcoming administration.

Billionaire Elon Musk attended a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania in October (Photo: AFP).

Keeping his campaign promise, in a statement on November 12, US President-elect Donald Trump said he would establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This agency will be headed by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Both are wealthy businessmen. Mr. Trump did not specify the operating mechanism of DOGE, only saying that this agency will "provide advice and guidance from outside the government", implying that Mr. Musk will not take on an official role as a federal official. The president-elect explained that Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy will help his administration tackle government bureaucracy by cutting unnecessary regulations, reducing wasteful spending and restructuring federal agencies. According to him, this is very important for the "America First" policy. "I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the federal bureaucracy that will lead to efficiency and a better life for all Americans. Most importantly, we will eliminate the massive waste and fraud that exists in our $6.5 trillion annual government spending," Trump said. "They will work together to free up our economy and hold our government accountable to the people. Their work will be completed by July 4, 2026. A streamlined, less bureaucratic government would be the perfect gift to America on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!" Immediately after President-elect Trump's announcement, billionaire Elon Musk affirmed on X: "Every action of DOGE will be posted online for maximum transparency. Whenever the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, let us know." He added that a "ranking board" will be created for tax spending. DOGE and pledge to cut more than $2,000 billion

Mr. Elon Musk and Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy (Photo: AFP).

Republicans have long envisioned such reforms, and DOGE was created with those goals in mind. DOGE would work closely with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to implement large-scale structural reforms and bring an entrepreneurial spirit to government operations. In an August interview with Trump, billionaire Elon Musk pledged to help the government drastically cut wasteful spending that does not benefit Americans and that artificial intelligence (AI) technology could be used to identify where to cut. He also promised to provide severance packages to government employees who are fired, and proposed a system of evaluations and terminations for underperforming employees. In public discussions about Musk’s potential role in government, Trump has praised the Tesla CEO for his decisiveness in firing him. The Financial Times reported that Musk aims to cut at least $2 trillion in government spending and eliminate regulations that he believes stifle innovation. Instead of directly managing government operations, he plans to appoint longtime representatives, technical experts and thought partners to key agencies. Key people being considered for government roles include Steve Davis, who oversaw massive layoffs at X, and Omead Afshar, who Musk described as a “firefighter” handling the challenges of transforming the company. Musk has also suggested SpaceX executives for positions at the Department of Defense, including former Air Force General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy and government affairs executive Tim Hughes. Musk has become more involved in high-level diplomacy after contributing at least $120 million to Trump's re-election campaign. On Election Day, Musk said he had no plans to stop his "invasion" of politics, saying his super PAC "will continue to operate after the election and prepare for the midterms and any election." Musk was reportedly on President-elect Donald Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as world leaders congratulated Trump on his victory. The tech mogul's influence extends beyond his traditional role in government. His X platform has become a vehicle for disseminating pro-Trump messages during the campaign, while venture capitalists David Sacks and Jason Calacanis, who host the podcast All-In, are seeking roles in government. Coincidentally or not, the acronym DOGE is the same as the cryptocurrency (Dogecoin) that billionaire Elon Musk supports. There are suspicions that the creation of DOGE is part of a plan to promote this cryptocurrency. Immediately after Mr. Trump announced the creation of DOGE, the value of Dogecoin increased by nearly 20% to $0.43/coin. This is one of the strongest digital currencies since the US election day, with an increase of up to 153%.

South African-born billionaire Elon Musk is now the richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $280 billion, $60 billion more than the second richest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk's SpaceX and Tesla are both among the world's most valuable companies. Aerospace giant SpaceX is the world's second-largest private company with a valuation of $210 billion, while electric car company Tesla is the 10th-largest public company with a market capitalization of more than $900 billion. Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is a tech entrepreneur with no previous political experience. His parents immigrated from India. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard University before transferring to Yale Law School.

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