Musk says DOGE has made progress but ‘not as effective as I’d like’ after first 100 days

Elon Musk described his first 100 days in Washington as head of the Department of Government Efficiency as “very, very intense,” saying he was proud of his team’s work but blaming an “entrenched set of interests” for limiting their progress so far.

Seated on Wednesday at the head of the table in the Roosevelt Room in the White House dressed in all black, Musk and three of his top DOGE officials, Steve Davis, Antonio Gracias and Anthony Armstrong discussed their early months in Washington, pressed on claims of fraud, his future workload, DOGE’s shifting goals and Musk’s relationship with President Donald Trump.

‘Not as effective as I’d like’

Reflecting on his first 100 days, Musk acknowledged that while his team had made progress, claiming to have saved the American taxpayers $160 billion so far, “we haven’t been as effective as I’d like.”

“I think we’ve been effective, not as effective as I’d like, I think we could be more effective, but we made progress,” he said.

Musk initially said at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden that DOGE would save the country “at least $2 trillion” in federal spending, before later lowering the goal to $1 trillion. Asked whether DOGE could still reach its stated goal of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending, Musk said Wednesday the target remains “possible” but admitted “it’s really difficult” and he will need more support.

“I think it’s possible to do that, but there’s that. It’s a long road to go and, you know, this, this, this really, it’s really difficult,” he said. “But our rate of savings per day is pretty good. You know, we’re like, $1.6 billion a day, 100 days in.”

Musk claimed that if DOGE is going to get to $1 trillion in cuts, it may come down to “how much pain is the cabinet and Congress willing to take. It can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.”

Musk criticized the structure of federal budgeting as a default to “spend what you did last year plus 5% indefinitely,” comparing the challenge of reform to “changing the direction of a fleet of supertankers.”

“We are making as much progress as we can there’s a lot of inertia in the government… So, it’s like, it’s not easy. This is, this is a way to make a lot of enemies and not that many friends.”

Pressed again, Musk said success was “absolutely” possible — but contingent on more political support.

“Is there a sufficient political will in Congress and elsewhere to actually do that? It remains to be seen. If we can do it. We will, is it? Is it possible to do, yes.”

Musk’s time in Washington — and at the White House

Musk also spoke in detail about his day-to-day life in Washington, including where he stays and how often he works from the White House.

“Sometimes I stay at the White House,” he said. “In the Lincoln Bedroom,” though he declined to say how often.

Asked how many days a week he works from Washington, Musk replied, “It varies,” laughing.

He described the first three months of DOGE as “very intense,” comparing the effort to a startup. “Very intense 100 days,” he said, noting that he had at times worked seven days a week from the White House. Now, he said, his presence is less essential.

“We’re getting into more of a rhythm,” he said, estimating he will work one to two days per week going forward. “My guess is I’ll be in D.C. probably every other week.”

“If the president’s cabinet has an emergency that they want me to respond to, then I’ll do that,” Musk said. “But otherwise… I think it’s pretty manageable.”

Asked who would lead DOGE in his absence, Musk deflected with humor: “DOGE is a way of life… like Buddhism… you wouldn’t ask the question, ‘Who would lead Buddhism.'”

He said he expects DOGE to last Trump’s full term, though the executive order establishing it currently expires in July 2026. “It is ultimately up to President Trump,” he said.

Musk spoke warmly about his relationship with Trump, describing him as a “friend,” and discussed how he sometimes ends up staying the night at the White House or Mar-a-Lago.

“We’ll be on Air Force One and Marine One. And then he’s like, ‘Hey, you want to stay over?’ I’m like, ‘Sure.’ Then he said here’s the Lincoln Bedroom. But I didn’t request it to be clear,” Musk said.

He added that Trump often offers accommodations spontaneously: “We’re literally arriving at Marine One and he’s like, ‘Where are you staying tonight?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, in a friend’s house, I guess?’ And then he’s like, ‘You want to stay here?'”

Musk recalled one late-night getting a call from the president: “He’ll actually call, like, late at night and say, like, ‘Oh, by the way, make sure you get some ice cream from the kitchen.'” Musk added: “Then I went and got the ice cream from the kitchen, and I ate a whole tub… it’s epic.”

“Don’t tell RFK,” Musk joked, referring to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.

Asked about tensions with other cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Musk downplayed the friction.

“At times, there will be some disagreements with the cabinet, but I’d say the relationship with the cabinet is extremely good,” he said. “And you see that from the cabinet meeting this morning… the cabinet credited DOGE would make great progress.”

Fraud investigations

Musk was also asked about ongoing investigations tied to fraud allegedly uncovered by DOGE. He said the department had referred several cases to the Department of Justice.

“As the saying goes, the wheels of justice turn slowly… but hopefully surely.”

Gracias, one of the DOGE officials at the table, said the team had refered 57 cases of potential voter fraud involving resident aliens, though few specifics of the allegations were shared.

Musk went further, claiming DOGE had found “hundreds of thousands” of fraud cases but was prioritizing which to send to DOJ for prosecution.

“How many can the DOJ actually prosecute?” Musk asked. “They can’t go after that many people. So, then we’re trying to find the cases that seem to be the most fair cut.”

He said DOGE prepares an “evidence file” for each referral, which DOJ reviews — a process Musk said takes “several weeks.”

What’s next?

Musk reiterated his belief that the federal government should invest more heavily in modern weapons technology.

“We should be spending more on hypersonic missiles and long-range drones more than on crude systems,” he said.

Asked whether he had shared that view with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Musk said: “I’ve made that recommendation so many times that when I see Secretary Hegseth, he says, ‘hypersonic missiles and long-range drones?'”

“He doesn’t disagree, by the way,” Musk added.

At one point, Musk appeared to revel in the reality that “DOGE,” once a meme he shared on his platform X, had actually materialized into a major part of the federal government: “It is funny that we’ve got DOGE. The absurdity of that seemed like, like, are we in a simulation here? But like, it was a memecoin at one point. How did we get here? Doesn’t it seem absurd?”

Asked whether he would play a role in the 2026 midterms, Musk demurred: “Well, that’s not a question for today. Today’s question is about DOGE.”

Asked again whether someone would replace him at DOGE when he steps back, Musk replied, “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?”