The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) says nearly $200 billion has been saved since it was established under the Trump administration earlier this year.
DOGE said 12,426 federal contracts have been terminated, worth about $53 billion, while 15,488 grants totaling $44 billion have been canceled so far. About $140 million was saved through 384 federal lease terminations, according to the DOGE website.
Musk, who had helped DOGE with efforts to eliminate fraud and waste within the federal government, later criticized President Donald Trump and other Republicans who backed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Trump referred to Musk in a social media post last week, saying he wants businesses in the United States to thrive.
“I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!”
“The ‘subsidies’ he’s talking about simply do not exist,” Musk said on X. “SpaceX won the NASA contracts by doing a better job for less money. Moving those contracts to other aerospace companies would leave astronauts stranded and taxpayers on the hook for twice as much!”
Previously, Trump signaled in a Truth Social post that he would have DOGE evaluate federal subsidies that Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, have received.
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” Trump told reporters earlier this month amid their spat. “He gets a lot of subsidies. Elon’s very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated.”
