Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is once again criticizing Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency after learning that a government initiative supposedly meant to boost federal productivity has fizzled out due to a jammed inbox.
“Whatever happened to the ‘5 things’ DoGe emails?” Cuban wrote on Bluesky. “Talked to someone really smart who just left gov, who said all the emails bounced back as inbox full. Already forgotten. Typical. Ready Fire Aim.”
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What Were the “5 Things” Emails?
The emails Cuban referenced were part of a high-profile plan led by Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, which was created under President Donald Trump’s administration. Beginning in late February, all federal employees were instructed to send a weekly email listing five things they accomplished during the previous week. They were told to reply to a government email and cc their managers by Monday night.
The message was blunt and came with a threat: employees who didn't comply risked losing their jobs. The goal, according to Musk, was to cut waste, streamline government operations, and root out underperformers.
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What Went Wrong
Less than two months in, the plan has run into basic technical issues. According to ABC News, employees across multiple agencies—including the IRS, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services—received bounce-back messages stating that the mailbox they were supposed to send their emails to was full.
“The recipient’s mailbox is full and can’t accept messages now. Please try resending your message later or contact the recipient directly,” one automatic response read.
Some agencies scrambled to redirect staff to alternative email addresses, while others appeared to give up enforcing the requirement entirely.
Mockery, Confusion, and No Real Oversight
Even before the inbox issue, many federal workers had begun openly mocking the policy. One viral response told Musk to “Go f*** yourself,” followed by only four bullet points, prompting Musk to reply with a correction, pointing out, “Ahem, we said 5 items and that's only 4.”
Others flooded the inbox with sarcastic responses like “Held a corporate meeting with my cat” or “Launched the Gulf of Mexico design.” Some took direct political shots, including fake accomplishments like “Did not end vital programs millions rely on” and “Did not perform a Nazi salute.”
Additionally, Italian workers in at least two U.S. military bases were caught off guard when they received the same DOGE email. One reportedly wrote: “I was slicing pizza.”
One U.S. worker told ABC News they've just been sending the same five items every week without any pushback. Another said, “I don’t think anyone is reading these.”
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Bigger Picture
Critics argue the rollout mirrors outdated corporate strategies like the discredited “rank-and-yank” system once used by General Electric, where employees were regularly ranked and the lowest performers were fired. The approach, they say, ignores real-world factors like sick leave, vacations, or parental leave.
Anthony Wheeler, dean of the School of Business Administration at Widener University, warned the policy could do more harm than good. “Mass layoffs create instability and uncertainty,” he told Inc. “Good performing government employees will seek options elsewhere, leaving average to below average employees remaining.”
As inboxes overflow and enforcement fades, Cuban's comment sums up the feeling among critics that this was another rushed idea that collapsed under its own weight.
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