Musk hopes to cut US budget by ‘at least $2 trillion’
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made an appearance at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden where he promised to save American taxpayers trillions of dollars if the Republican candidate wins.
Despite previously having proclaimed political neutrality, Musk has leaned towards the former president in recent months, publicly endorsing him after the first assassination attempt. Following this, Trump promised that if he wins the November election, he will establish a “government efficiency” commission headed by the billionaire entrepreneur.
As he walked on stage in New York on Sunday, Musk was asked, “How much do you think we can cut from this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?”
Elon Musk on D.O.G.E:"I think we can reduce the annual federal budget by atleast $2 trillion per year. Your tax money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that." pic.twitter.com/isu5ZHOaGz
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 27, 2024
“I think we can do at least $2 trillion,” Musk replied, eliciting loud cheers from the crowd. “At the end of the day, all government spending is taxation. Whether it's direct taxation or government spending, it either leads to inflation or becomes direct taxation.”
Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that! We're going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook!
When the former US president proposed creating DOGE, he stated it would be an independent force “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for the drastic reforms we need.”
Neither Trump nor Musk specified how exactly the panel would operate or which specific policies it would eliminate or implement.
The tech billionaire has repeatedly sounded the alarm over US debt, warning just last week that the country is spiraling toward bankruptcy and will quickly go bust if Washington doesn’t curb its spending.
In September, he wrote that every trillion dollars of debt added is money that “our kids and grandkids are going to have to pay somehow.” If debt continues to grow at this pace, Musk warned, the US will be trapped in a vicious cycle where “the only thing we’ll be able to pay is interest.”
Earlier this month, Musk told American journalist Tucker Carlson that he has bet “all in” on Donald Trump winning the US presidential election in November; if Trump loses, he is “f**ked” and will probably end up in jail.