Elon Musk calls for U.S. government to 'delete entire agencies'

Elon Musk advocates for radical government restructuring, emphasizing cutting spending and AI dangers at World Governments Summit.

Elon Musk called Thursday (February 13, 2025) to “delete entire agencies” from the United States' federal government as part of his push under President Donald Trump to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.

Also read:PM Modi likely to meet Elon Musk, Starlink’s entry in India to be discussed: Report

Mr. Musk offered a wide-ranging survey via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of what he described as the priorities of the Trump administration interspersed with multiple references to “thermonuclear warfare” and the possible dangers of artificial intelligence.

“We really have here rule of the bureaucracy as opposed to rule of the people — democracy,” Mr. Musk said, wearing a black T-shirt that read: “Tech Support.” He also joked that he was the “White House's tech support,” borrowing from his profile on the social platform X, which he owns.

“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” Mr. Musk said. “If we don't remove the roots of the weed, then it's easy for the weed to grow back.”

While Mr. Musk has spoken to the summit in the past, his appearance Thursday (February 13, 2025) comes as he has consolidated control over large swaths of the government with Mr. Trump 's blessing since assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency. That's included sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and inviting a constitutional clash over the limits of presidential authority.

Mr. Musk's new role imbued his comments with more weight beyond being the world's wealthiest person through his investments in SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla.