Elon Musk told a live audience that the U.S. government is “basically unfixable”. He made the remark during an appearance at the All-In Summit on Tuesday night.
Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, inside the Trump White House. He left that role in May and has not returned to Washington since then.
Trump presented Musk with a ceremonial gold key when he exited DOGE. The meeting got press attention and marked the end of his tenure.
Musk’s time in the White House turned tense after public clashes with the president. He used X to accuse the president of hiding files tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
When asked on stage what he learned, Musk gave a blunt verdict. He said the government is basically unfixable, and the crowd laughed.
Musk praised some officials who work on tech and AI policy. He singled out David Sacks, who holds a White House role on AI and crypto. He said talented people can help shape future rules for AI and finance.
He warned that rising interest payments on the national debt are a grave risk. Musk said interest payments now exceed the Defense Department budget and keep rising.
Musk argued only AI and robots could help fix that long term. If they do not, he warned, the country faces serious trouble. He said quick fixes are not likely to solve core budget problems.
Cutting spending was the chief reason he created DOGE, he said. His aim was to remove roughly one trillion dollars from yearly federal spending.
By the time he left, he estimated DOGE had cut about 175 billion dollars. That falls short of his initial goal but still represents a large sum.
Musk said he does not regret taking the job and called it a memorable detour. He said the role gave him a new view of how government work runs.
Musk’s time in government drew pushback from critics and some unions. Local protests and company backlash followed some of his cost cutting moves and firings. Labor groups said privacy and oversight were real concerns in their filings.
Experts say cutting big sums is hard without deep policy change. Spending lines are set by law and need Congress to revise them.
Musk argued he tried to avoid cuts to services people rely on. He said DOGE focused on waste and overlap across agencies. Local officials warned that quick cuts can harm services if not well planned.
The White House named David Sacks to handle AI and crypto policy. Musk praised Sacks during the interview and called his work helpful to the team.
Musk’s comments follow months of tense exchanges with the president and allies. The split grew after Musk criticized a major spending bill and other moves.
Those fights also spilled into media and social posts on X. Musk made sharp claims online about the president and private files.
Investors and markets watched closely while he served in the White House. Shares of his companies rose and fell on news about his public role. Bank analysts said uncertainty about his public work made valuations more volatile across markets.
Musk warned that if AI does not cut costs, the nation faces hard choices. He said rising interest costs push the budget into a risky path.
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Musk’s brief role left a mix of claimed savings and unanswered questions. Lawmakers and watchdogs may move to audit the methods DOGE used to cut costs. Auditors will likely ask for clear records and methods behind each claimed cut.
Musk returned to the private sector and has not taken another government job. He said the work taught him limits of change inside big systems. He said more debate is needed on the national debt now.
The All-In Summit posted video of the interview where these comments appear. Viewers can watch the segment for the full exchange and context.
Musk said the nation faces clear fiscal risks and urged serious debate on cost control. He left the audience with a warning about debt and rising interest.
Cost cutting is real and necessary, tax credits and untaxed wealth of our billionaires is a very real driver of why we can’t reduce our deficit and balance a budget. NO ONE wants to take food and education from our children, but that’s what was jammed through Congress and signed by Trump. So the fix can’t even start with our current legislators in the majority. Hopefully we will have an election in 2026 to start going in the right direction to solve our problems.