DOGE’s Dodgy Math: Elon Musk’s Government ‘Efficiency’ Department Plays Fast and Loose with Numbers
Just like Musk does at Tesla!
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE and not a real department) promised radical transparency. Turns out, it’s about as transparent as a fogged-up Tesla windshield.
While Musk and his team boast about slashing government waste, watchdogs have found some glaring errors—like claiming an $8 billion savings on a canceled contract that was actually worth $8 million.
Oops.
Even worse, when people started asking questions, DOGE conveniently deleted details from its website and even scrubbed its own code to make verification impossible.
“That screamed Tesla,” said transportation researcher Noah Goodall. “You get the feeling they’re not really interested in the truth.”
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Tesla has long been accused of fudging its safety numbers, massaging stats to make Autopilot and Full Self-Driving look better than they actually are.
Back in 2018, the company touted a 40% reduction in crashes thanks to Autopilot—until the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration admitted the number was wildly misleading.
Fast forward to 2023, and Tesla “adjusted” its crash data again, retroactively tweaking reports to make Autopilot seem safer.
Even die-hard fans started crowdsourcing their own performance data because Tesla’s official numbers held up worse than a Cybertruck’s glued-panels-that-fall-off in bad weather. Oh, and Cybertrucks apparently don’t drive well in snow.
And now, DOGE seems to be borrowing the same playbook, right down to the obfuscation and post-publication revisions. If Musk’s idea of “government efficiency” involves the same level of statistical gymnastics Tesla has pulled for years, taxpayers might want to buckle up—it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Source: Wired