Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk said Tuesday that he will discuss potential taxpayer rebates with President Donald Trump.
Musk responded to a social media proposal for $5,000 payments to eligible households. Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback proposed the plan, saying, “We wanted to help make DOGE real for millions of Americans. They deserve a portion of the savings DOGE will deliver under President Trump’s leadership.”
The idea should be taken with 5,000 grains of salt. Musk has a long history of making empty pronouncements, and investigations have shown discrepancies in DOGE’s claimed savings. The New York Times revealed that one claim of $8 billion in savings, in reality, only amounted to $8 million, with other figures lacking documentation.
Musk has also, not surprisingly, walked back his initial projections. He now calls the $2 trillion federal cuts target optimistic and suggests half that amount is more realistic — a pivot that sounds all too similar to the many revisions to Tesla’s autonomous driving and vehicle launch timelines.
Heritage Foundation tax policy researcher Preston Brashers criticized the proposal’s economic implications. “Love what DOGE is doing, but this is a bad idea… if the government sends out stimmy checks, inflation will come back with a vengeance,” he said.
The rebates will require congressional approval, as Republican legislators debate whether to use potential savings for debt reduction or tax cut extensions. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates concurrent Trump administration tax proposals could cost up to $11 trillion.
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