Elon Musk Is Essentially Live-Posting While Working '120 Hour' Weeks at DOGE. Here's Why Some CEOs Are Split on Whether This Leads to 'Key Innovations' or 'Burnout'. Musk posted nearly 200 times on X over 24 hours this week.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk posted nearly 200 times on X in 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, essentially posting live as he works as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
- Musk posted earlier this week that DOGE is logging 120-hour workweeks.
- CEOs tell BIZ Experiences that the work environment could lead to innovation—or burnout.
Elon Musk says the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is putting in 120-hour workweeks as the temporary organization tries to cut back on government spending and bureaucracy. While some BIZ Experiencess applaud his work ethic, others are issuing warnings that such an intense approach could lead to burnout.
Musk has been essentially giving X users a play-by-play while he works on DOGE. According to a review earlier this week by ABC News, he posted on X almost 200 times within 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday. The posts range from accusing government agencies like USAID of wasting taxpayer money to calling DOGE's work "something that is sorely needed!"
Musk wrote in a Sunday post on X that in the over two weeks DOGE has been operational, the agency has logged 120-hour workweeks. He accused DOGE's "bureaucratic opponents" of "optimistically" working 40 hours a week.
Crazy waste of your tax money! https://t.co/9dEoj9xeMf
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
Accurate.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
We just renamed US Digital Services, created by Obama, to US DOGE Services, with a mandate to modernize all computer systems in the US government.
This is something that is sorely needed! https://t.co/nyb9SOX074
Related: Elon Musk Has Resorted to Sleeping at Tesla's Factory to Try to Get it Back on Track
Vanessa Rissetto, CEO and co-founder of Culina Health, told BIZ Experiences in a statement that the "hyperspeed culture" Musk is cultivating "leaves a wake of burnout and isn't sustainable."
"Government is about the people and Musk's approach to running a business prioritizes 'success standards' over the well-being of his constituents," Rissetto stated.
However, another BIZ Experiences, Atropos Health CEO and co-founder Dr. Brigham Hyde, is more confident in Musk's abilities to complete the objectives of DOGE and says that periods of intensity can lead to breakthroughs.
"As a founder, you realize that oftentimes key innovations come out of these periods of intense focus," Hyde told BIZ Experiences in a statement. "If anybody can do it it is Elon, and if he can't find opportunities for efficiencies I think we may have bigger problems to deal with."
Hyde pointed out that the extra-long workweeks were part of Musk's playbook at Twitter, now X. When Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, he told staff to be "hardcore" or leave the company, which led to 1,200 employees out of 3,700 resigning by November.
So far Musk and his team at DOGE have reportedly had their hands in Medicare & Medicaid Services payment systems, Treasury Department data, and Department of Veteran Affairs contracting systems.
Musk is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $414 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Related: Elon Musk Has Resorted to Sleeping at Tesla's Factory to Try to Get it Back on Track
