Elon Musk’s Revelations on Corruption and Accountability: A Deep Dive with Joe Rogan

In a recent three-hour conversation on the Joe Rogan Experience, Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of companies like Tesla and SpaceX, made headlines with his candid remarks about corruption, fraud, and the inefficiencies plaguing the U.S. federal government. Musk, who has taken on the role of director of Dogecoin (Doge), a cryptocurrency that aims to cut waste in government spending, did not shy away from discussing the systemic issues he perceives within the political and bureaucratic landscape.

Musk’s discussion began with a stark assertion: he believes that the current state of corruption in the U.S. government is “the biggest scam of all time.” This bold claim was met with agreement from Rogan, who expressed disbelief at the scale of the problem. Musk elaborated on his views, suggesting that the intertwining of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has created a system ripe for exploitation. He pointed to figures like George Soros, whom he accused of masterfully using NGOs to siphon billions from taxpayers, calling it a “gigantic scam.”

The conversation took a deeper turn as Musk explained how NGOs can be established with relatively small amounts of funding, only to be transformed into massive entities that receive continuous government support. He described this process as a “hack” of the system, where a small investment can yield enormous returns through lobbying and political influence. Musk’s critique of this system resonated with many online commentators, who echoed his sentiments about the scale of financial mismanagement and corruption in government.

Musk’s revelations come at a time when he has been actively advocating for accountability within federal agencies. He has taken controversial steps to address wasteful spending, including sending emails to government employees asking them to justify their work. This initiative, which Musk likened to a performance review, has sparked outrage among some federal employees, many of whom have expressed their discontent publicly. Musk’s approach has been met with both praise and criticism, with supporters arguing that it is a necessary step toward accountability in a bloated bureaucracy.

The discussion also touched on the broader implications of Musk’s efforts. He suggested that if he were to fully eradicate corruption, he might face dire consequences, hinting at the potential dangers of challenging entrenched interests. “If I fully destroy the corruption and the graft, they will kill me,” Musk stated, a remark that, while delivered with a hint of humor, raised serious concerns about the lengths to which powerful entities might go to protect their interests.

Critics of Musk’s approach argue that his methods could lead to a culture of fear within government agencies, where employees feel threatened by the prospect of being held accountable for their work. However, Musk and his supporters contend that the current lack of accountability has allowed incompetence and inefficiency to flourish, ultimately costing taxpayers billions.

The conversation also highlighted the broader political landscape, with Musk receiving support from figures like former President Donald Trump, who praised the efforts to eliminate waste in government. Trump’s endorsement of Musk’s initiatives underscores a growing bipartisan recognition of the need for reform in federal agencies.

As the discussion unfolded, it became clear that Musk’s views on corruption and accountability are not just personal opinions but part of a larger narrative about the future of governance in the United States. His willingness to confront these issues head-on has sparked a national conversation about the role of government, the influence of money in politics, and the need for transparency and accountability.

In conclusion, Elon Musk’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience was more than just a casual conversation; it was a revealing exploration of the systemic issues facing the U.S. government. His candid remarks about corruption, fraud, and the inefficiencies of federal agencies have resonated with many, igniting a debate about the need for reform and accountability. As Musk continues to advocate for change, the implications of his insights will likely reverberate throughout the political landscape, challenging both lawmakers and citizens to reconsider the status quo.

Elon Musk takes familiar fraud, waste claims to Joe Rogan with DOGE discussion

In one of his first in-depth interviews since joining the U.S. government, Elon Musk pushed a variety of claims about waste and fraud but offered little new information or insight into the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In a wide-ranging, three-hour discussion with podcaster Joe Rogan published Friday, Musk revisited well-trodden grievances about news outlets and billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. He also touched on whether he thinks private aerospace contractors have secret propulsion technology (“I don’t think they’re hiding it from me.”), his respect for Trump’s Cabinet (“This is a revolutionary Cabinet and maybe the most revolutionary Cabinet since the first revolution.”), and a recent fringe theory that the gold in Fort Knox had been stolen.

Musk had Rogan ask Grok, the AI chatbot built by Musk’s company, xAI, whether “all the gold was in Fort Knox.”

“Are you a f—— conspiracy theorist?” Grok responded, drawing laughs from Musk and Rogan.

Musk, who has appeared on Rogan’s podcast twice before, also discussed the DOGE efforts stoking chaos at government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, Social Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Treasury Department.

The podcast appearance comes as Musk’s ascendance in the U.S. government now appears complete. Though the administration has said he is a White House advisor, President Donald Trump has said that Musk is leading the way with DOGE’s efforts to slash the federal government. At Trump’s first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Musk had an outsized role, with Trump giving him the floor for a large chunk of it.

Despite Musk’s high profile and near-constant posting on X, major questions remain about DOGE and what it is doing, with pressure mounting from politicians and judges to be more forthcoming about its operations.

The Rogan podcast did little to answer those questions. Though Musk spoke at length about DOGE, he offered few details.

DOGE is facing nearly a dozen lawsuits regarding its access to government agencies’ and departments’ data. Musk defended the efforts, saying that “anyone from DOGE has to go through the same vetting process that those federal employees went through” to access databases.

“If for example there’s a security clearance needed, the DOGE person has to have that same security clearance, so there’s no reduction in security,” Musk said.

It’s not clear what kind of clearance or vetting DOGE staffers have.

He also said DOGE’s cuts were not mandatory.

“I want to be clear, these are cuts that DOGE recommends to the department,” Musk said. “Usually these recommendations are followed, but these are recommendations that are then confirmed by the department.”

Musk told Rogan that the initiative began with around 40 to 100 people, but did not say whether that number has increased, and the total number of DOGE employees remains unknown. DOGE has been ridiculed by members of Congress, federal officials and others for its staffing choices, with some members being as young as 19.

Musk also continued to make claims about fraud with little evidence. He revisited Social Security, around which he recently made claims about fraud that were debunked by The Associated Press, citing a 2024 Social Security’s inspector general report.

“We found just with a basic search of the Social Security database that there were 20 million dead people marked as alive,” Musk said.

When Rogan asked if they were receiving money, Musk said yes but could not answer what percentage was receiving money. Social Security’s acting commissioner Lee Dudek, acknowledged recent reporting. “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”

Musk said the fraud stemmed from people getting disability and unemployment payments because they were marked as alive. He provided no evidence for that claim, calling the fraud a “bank shot.”

In the interview, Musk also said FEMA allegedly spent $59 million in housing for migrants, a claim he also made on X. Despite Musk writing in his post that the information had been discovered by the “DOGE team,” the spending had been made public and appropriated by Congress.

The day after Musk made his X post, four FEMA officials were fired for having ties to funding hotels for migrants in New York City.

Musk also addressed the backlash he faced after making a gesture some compared to a Nazi salute during Trump’s inauguration celebration. He called the coverage after that episode “coordinated propaganda” from the “legacy media.” After he made the gesture, Musk posted Nazi-related puns to X.

“It was obviously meant in the most positive spirit possible,” Musk said. “Now I can never point at things diagonally.”

“It’s deliberate propaganda.” Musk added. “They know it was obviously not meant in a negative way. I’d literally said, ‘my heart goes out to you.’ It was very positive. My entire speech was very positive.”