Musk’s WashingtonA close look at how Elon Musk is trying to transform the government.Good evening. Jess here, handing over the reins to Lisa Lerer, our indomitable national political correspondent, for tonight’s newsletter. As Elon Musk announces plans to scale back the time he spends in Washington, Lisa assesses the technology billionaire’s accomplishments — and defeats — on President Trump’s behalf. First, the headlines.
As Musk pulls back, here are 5 things he got done
Elon Musk announced yesterday that he was stepping back from his work at the Department of Government Efficiency to focus more on his companies, particularly Tesla. Given that his intense focus on Washington appears to be abating, if not concluding, I thought it might be a good time to assess what, exactly, he has achieved there so far. And what better way to grade him than using the same method with which he sought to evaluate thousands of government workers? Back in February, DOGE demanded that federal employees send an email each week listing five bullet points of their accomplishments. So, here are five bullet points on what Musk achieved in Washington:
BY THE NUMBERS Americans like the idea of cutting government waste, but dislike MuskThe idea underpinning the Department of Government Efficiency — that the government is wasteful and inefficient — is a view most Americans have held for decades, according to surveys. And Americans mostly support the concept of DOGE when asked about it directly. But they generally are not pleased with many of the details, particularly Elon Musk’s involvement, according to a New York Times review of polls on the subject. In fact, when asked if Musk is doing a good job with DOGE, nearly 60 percent of voters disapproved of his job performance while 40 percent approved. And in a Quinnipiac University poll this month, 57 percent of voters said Musk had too much power in decisions that affect the country, including 16 percent of Republicans. — Ruth Igielnik, Christine Zhang
MEANWHILE ON X A return to shop talkTesla’s announcement that its first-quarter profits had plunged prompted Elon Musk to try to placate investors. My colleague Kate Conger reports on how he expanded on those efforts using his social-media feed. Of course, the first quarter also marked the beginning of Musk’s federal cost-cutting project, which has shaken Washington and inspired protests outside Tesla dealerships nationwide. Tesla investors have worried that Musk is too distracted to run his electric vehicle maker, and Musk tried to reassure them yesterday, telling analysts he planned to scale back his government work. On Wednesday, Musk continued those efforts on X. He reposted another user who shared his remarks about stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency, and spent much of the morning posting about his business accomplishments at Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, his artificial intelligence startup. “Only 66 years from first flight to landing on the Moon in 1969,” Musk wrote in one post, trumpeting his ambitions for SpaceX. “Here we are, 76 years later cannot yet return to the Moon. We should have been on Mars by now.” He also shared posts that praised xAI’s chatbot, Grok; discussed the ability of his satellite internet service, Starlink, to provide internet in remote locations; and claimed that new Teslas would soon be able to drive themselves from the factory directly to buyers. It’s a noticeable departure from the stream of political posts that have occupied Musk’s timeline for the past few months, and an indication that Musk wants to appease Tesla investors who believe he hasn’t been paying enough attention to his business responsibilities. — Kate Conger
YOU SHOULDN’T MISS At Musk’s behest, voters cast ballots for a new town: Starbase, TexasVoting has begun on a measure to formally incorporate Starbase, Texas, the town long dreamed of by Musk to be home to his rocket company, SpaceX, and its 3,500 employees. J. David Goodman brings us this dispatch from the southern tip of Texas. Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Have feedback? Ideas for coverage? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com. |
