Musk & Politics
Free speech, smaller government and DOGE — the engineer who went to Washington.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk at Musk’s farewell press conference, 30 May 2025. White House photo (public domain).
Musk's politics are the politics of an engineer who hates waste: fewer rules that block building, less spending that buys nothing, more speech rather than less. For years he gave money to both parties; by 2022 he had moved right, and in 2024 he went all in for Donald Trump.
DOGE was his attempt to run the federal government like a start-up. Supporters credit it with exposing waste; critics, courts and budget experts dispute many of its savings claims and its methods. We cover both — and we say what we think.
Timeline
2022
No more votes for Democrats
After donating to both parties for years, Musk says in 2022 that he will no longer support Democrats. He calls himself a moderate.
Oct 2022
Twitter becomes a free-speech project
Musk closes the US$44 billion Twitter deal, promising less censorship and fewer bots.
2024
Largest donor of the election
Musk sets up a political action committee for Donald Trump and gives more than US$277 million — more than anyone else in the 2024 election.
20 Jan 2025
DOGE is created
An executive order sets up the Department of Government Efficiency, an idea Musk suggested in 2024. Musk serves as Senior Advisor to the President and is DOGE's de facto head.
30 May 2025
Back to the companies
Musk leaves Washington after his time-limited government role ends and returns to running Tesla, SpaceX and xAI.
Jun 2025
The split with Trump
Musk and Trump clash publicly over the "Big Beautiful Bill" spending package.
4 Jul 2026
DOGE winds down
DOGE ceases operation on schedule; the administration says its objectives continue inside the agencies.