Elon Musk Says DOGE Became A 'Whipping Boy' For Everything Real Or Imagined — Tesla CEO Doesn't Agree With Everything White House Does But Won't Speak Out: 'Creates A Bone Of Contention'

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk has defended his controversial tenure at the Department of Government Efficiency, stating that it became a scapegoat for everything wrong in Washington.

What Happened: In an interview with CBS's David Pogue that aired Sunday, Musk said DOGE—created to slash federal spending—was unfairly blamed for problems it didn't cause.

"It's a bit unfair … DOGE became the whipping boy for everything," he told Pogue. "If there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE."

Musk's four-month stint running DOGE included laying off or buying out 250,000 federal employees and slashing funding to agencies. The moves sparked widespread backlash, lawsuits and even violence.

See Also: Tesla's Optimus May Be The First Humanoid Robot To Achieve High Volume And Tech Scale, Says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: ‘… Likely To Be The Next Multi-Trillion Dollar Industry'

Despite his close ties to President Donald Trump, Musk expressed discomfort with being associated with all administration policies.

"It’s not like I agree with everything the administration does," stated the Tesla CEO, adding, "I agree with much of what the administration does. But we have differences of opinion … but it’s difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention."

"I’m a little stuck in a bind," Musk continued, " I don’t wanna, you know, speak up against the administration, but I also don’t wanna take responsibility for everything this administration’s doing."

Why It's Important: On Friday, Musk wrapped up his contentious stint as head of the DOGE despite delivering significantly less than the projected cost savings. However, Trump presented him with a golden key to the White House in recognition of his service.

The Tesla CEO’s move to step away from DOGE coincides with his criticism of Trump’s $3.8 trillion spending plan, which he called disappointing and harmful to the department’s goals. 

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At the same time, his renewed commitment to Tesla has sparked fresh optimism among Wall Street analysts. Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives set a bullish price target of $500, projecting the company could eventually reach a $2 trillion valuation.

Price Action: Tesla shares fell 3.34% on Friday, closing at $346.46. The stock edged down an additional 0.27% in after-hours trading. Year-to-date, Tesla is down 8.65%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings gives Tesla a strong growth score of 91.89%. Click here to see how it compares with other leading stocks.

Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.