Elon Musk admits he’s under immense pressure after stepping into the daunting and highly scrutinized role of scaling back the US government.
His new position as Trump’s go-to numbers expert has sparked global controversy, with critics decrying the presence of “unelected tech oligarchs” in government. But it turns out the political landscape he willingly entered is far more treacherous than he anticipated.
After enduring two months of relentless criticism from left-leaning media outlets and longtime establishment figures, Musk has acknowledged that he now treads carefully when discussing corruption in Washington.
In a recent conversation with Joe Rogan, the billionaire entrepreneur expressed shock at the extent of corruption within the US government, admitting that revealing too much could put his life in danger.
“This is really going to get me a.s.s.a.s.s.i.n.a.t.e.d…” Musk remarked on The Joe Rogan Experience when asked whether he planned to crack down on insider trading and corruption in Washington.
As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was already at significant risk due to his global prominence. But after facing years of backlash for his controversial online behavior and sudden political realignment, the 53-year-old has now opted to remain silent on a subject he believes is too perilous to expose.
“It’s like I’m not lengthening my lifespan by explaining this stuff to say the least,” he told Rogan.
“I was supposed to go back to DC. How am I going to survive? They’re going to kill me for sure.”
Though there were a few chuckles throughout the conversation, Musk avoided going into further detail in front of Rogan’s massive audience.
“I actually have to be careful I don’t push too hard on the corruption stuff, because it’s going to get me killed. I was thinking about that on the plane flight … people get desperate.”
He also provided a rare glimpse into the ultimate vision for DOGE, acknowledging that when it comes to dismantling deeply rooted corruption, some compromises might be necessary.
“We’ll attack corruption just enough to keep civilization trucking along,” he said.
“But if I fully destroy the corruption and the graft… they will kill me. It’s a real concern.”
Musk revealed that he had already been targeted twice in Austin by two men who had specifically traveled there with the intent to kill him.
“Two separate incidents. One thought I’d put a chip in his head,” he said.
“And, I mean, they’re both basically two guys that just very much had severe mental illness… This was before I was smeared as some sort of Nazi, before the current propaganda wave.”
“The probability that any given homicidal maniac is going to try to kill you is proportionate to how many times they hear your name.”
“And so they heard my name a lot. So I just got to the top of the list of two homicidal maniacs who were arrested, and both were in Travis County jail at the same time.”
What have Musk and Trump found?
Trump’s team alleges billions in waste and fraud in government spending, questioning aid sent abroad while the US faces domestic crises.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cited examples, including $36K for DEI programs, $3.4M for an innovation council, and $57K for Sri Lanka’s climate efforts, calling them “fraudulent” and “wasteful.”
However, US academics criticize these definitions, arguing such spending serves essential functions rather than fraud.
Elon Musk has highlighted a bizarre flaw in the U.S. federal system—retirement paperwork is still processed manually and stored in a 1955-era limestone mine. The Iron Mountain mineshaft physically limits how many employees can retire each month, as paperwork moves at the speed of an elevator.
Meanwhile, legal experts dismiss claims of fraud in federal spending, calling them misleading. But Musk’s revelations raise serious concerns about government inefficiency in the digital age.