Although Elon Musk was a prominent supporter of Donald Trump during the 2024 Presidential Election, the Tesla exec says he’s done with “political spending.”
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While attending the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk revealed that he would “do a lot less” political spending “in the future.”
“I think I’ve done enough,” he said, per Politico.
Musk then seemingly ignored the question of whether his decision to end political spending is related to the pushback of his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“If I see a reason to spend money on politics in the future, I will do it,” he said. I don’t currently see a reason.”
The billionaire reportedly spent $290 million supporting Trump and other Republicans during the 2024 election cycle. He then donated to former state attorney general Brad Schimel in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race last month. However, Schimel lost the race.
While he won’t make any political donations anytime soon, Musk hinted his friendship with President Trump is going strong. He stated he plans to have dinner with the world leader later this week.
Elon Musk Criticizes Journalist Who Asked About the Effectiveness of DOGE
While attending the Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk was seemingly put off by one journalist. She questioned him about DOGE’s effectiveness.
Bloomberg editor-at-large Mishal Husain asked the billionaire about DOGE’s mission to reduce spending waste within the US government. She pointed out that Musk had initially stated DOGE would save $4 billion per day. However, that wouldn’t be enough to reach his $2 trillion goal by the time the department is scheduled to be terminated in 2026.
“I feel you’re somewhat trapped in the [non-player character] dialogue tree of a traditional journalist,” Musk told Husein. “So it’s difficult when I’m conversing with someone who’s trapped in the dialogue tree of a conventional journalist because it’s like talking to a computer.”
Musk then described DOGE as an “advisory group” that is doing the best it can. He then said that DOGE’s progress, so far, has been “excellent.”
“I don’t think any advisory group has done better in the history of advisory groups for the government,” he pointed out. “Now, we do not make the laws, nor do we control the judiciary, nor do we control the executive branch. We are simply advisors. In that context, we’re doing very well.”