“Lawyer Up”: Elon Musk’s DOGE Bill Comes Due

Elon Musk’s brief stint as the chainsaw-waving face of the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative did little to curb federal spending, though it helped push more than 300,000 federal workers out of government through firings, voluntary resignations and early retirements last year. It also sparked anti-Tesla protests in the U.S. and Europe, some of which ended with cars ablaze. At best, DOGE was “a little successful,” he said with a sigh in a podcast interview last December with Katie Miller, the wife of White House advisor Stephen Miller who’d briefly worked with both DOGE and for Musk. But he acknowledged that if he had the chance to do it again, he wouldn’t. “I think instead of doing DOGE I would have basically worked on my companies,” Musk said. “And [then] they wouldn’t have been burning the cars.” Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2026/11/05/lawyer-up-elon-musks-doge-bill-comes-due/ Subscribe to Forbes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1 Subscribe to FORBES on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?s... Become a FORBES Member: https://account.forbes.com/membership… Gain unlimited access to Forbes' premium journalism, including breaking news, in-depth investigative reporting, daily digests, and exclusive insights. As a member, you'll get VIP access to live events featuring industry leaders, exclusive premium video content, and a seamless, ad-light browsing experience with unlimited article saving. Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://account.forbes.com/newsletters Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on X: https://x.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://www.forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.