Tesla, SpaceX founder and CEO and Department of Government Efficiency advisor Elon Musk on the alleged X cyberattack, spending ‘fraud’ targeted by DOGE and how the newly-minted office operates in a wide-ranging interview on ‘Kudlow.’
In an exclusive interview with FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow, Elon Musk – the face of Tesla, SpaceX and now the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – gave a behind-the-scenes look at how his team operates and identifies alleged spending waste and fraud.
“We look at the president’s executive orders, and we also just follow the money,” Musk said. “So we started looking closely at USAID because they were completely violating the president’s executive orders to suspend foreign aid.”
“I think, one of the biggest sources of fraud in the world, is government-funded non-governmental organizations. This is a gigantic fraud loophole where the government can give money to an NGO, and then there are no controls over that NGO,” he continued.
Musk confirmed that the department has “pretty much” gained access to every government agency and its spending data, adding that DOGE is “transparent line-by-line” on what expenditures it intends to slash, as listed on their website.
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DOGE was created by President Donald Trump through an executive order he signed on Inauguration Day. Under the order, DOGE will be a temporary organization within the White House that will spend 18 months until July 4, 2026, carrying out its mission of cutting trillions of dollars from the national deficit.
White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
The billionaire entrepreneur pushed back against those who have criticized DOGE over its access to federal systems, including the Treasury Department’s payment system, as well as moves to cancel federal contracts and make cuts at various agencies.
“What we’re adding here is caring and competence,” he said. “There’s a massive amount of fraud of, basically, people submitting Social Security numbers for Social Security benefits, unemployment, Small Business Administration loans and medical care. We’re trying to put a stop to all of that.”
Billionaire Elon Musk discusses DOGE’s long-term goals on ‘Kudlow.’
“What we do is in consultation with the Cabinet secretaries and with their departments. So we’re really trying to be, sort of refer to ourselves as tech support. We’re really helping the department get a handle on things. Because what actually happens here is you’ve got this sort of vast federal bureaucracy, and then you’ve got a very thin layer on top of the politically-appointed officials. And what has happened is that the bureaucracy, frankly, is in control, and they largely ignore the politically-appointed people,” the DOGE chair expanded.
According to Musk, DOGE currently employs a team of about 100 people, with an ultimate goal of 200 workers ranging from information security, software and coding, and finance.
When it comes to how DOGE picks its next target agency, Musk noted that they act “broadly” across all departments.
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Billionaire Elon Musk explains how DOGE is helping the government ‘get a handle on things’ on ‘Kudlow.’
“Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here doing this. It’s kind of bizarre. But I kind of think that we’ve got this enormous federal budget deficit, and it’s a $2 trillion deficit. It keeps growing. Our interest payments are higher than our Defense Department budget. [That], I think, was the real wake-up call for me,” Musk said.
“If we didn’t do something about this, then there won’t be any money for anything. We’ll just be servicing debt,” he continued. “Really, I just don’t want America to go bankrupt.”
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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
