Musk ‘finds’ his savings: Dems accuse DOGE cuts of saving tech mogul $2bn in tax liabilities

A scathing caller study uncovered however Elon Musk whitethorn beryllium avoiding much than $2 cardinal successful fiscal liabilities fixed his enactment astatine the Department of Government Efficiency, according to Senate Democrats.

As DOGE slashed authorities contracts, reduced the national government’s existent property footprint, and shrunk the national workforce, Musk, arsenic caput of the cost-cutting arm, has utilized his presumption for “self-enrichment” and to dodge oversight, Democrats successful the Permanent Subcommittee connected Investigations wrote successful a 44-page study released Monday.

Musk and his businesses faced $2.37 cardinal successful imaginable liability arsenic of January 2025, but helium has since, done DOGE, removed cardinal regulators and decision-makers successful authorities entities that oversee oregon are starring investigations into his companies, the study says.

“The done enactment connecting galore of Mr. Musk’s decisions appears to beryllium self-enrichment and avoiding what helium perceives arsenic obstacles to advancing his interests,” the Democrats said. His relation “may let him to evade oversight, derail investigations and marque litigation vanish whenever helium truthful chooses—on his presumption and astatine his command.”

The Independent has reached retired to the White House for comment.

A White House spokesperson denied that Musk utilized his relation for “personal oregon fiscal gain,” telling CNBC that “any assertion different is wholly mendacious and defamatory.”

Trump chose the world’s richest idiosyncratic — and laminitis of Tesla, Neuralink, SpaceX, xAI and the Boring Company — to pb DOGE.

“President Trump could not person chosen a idiosyncratic much prone to conflicts of interest,” Democrats stated. “The quality of Mr. Musk’s businesses, arsenic good arsenic their important net from authorities contracts, mean that helium is profoundly entangled successful the regulatory functions of the authorities helium is present empowered to shape.”

The Democratic unit recovered that connected the time of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Musk and his companies were taxable to “at slightest 65 existent oregon imaginable actions by 11 antithetic national agencies.” For 45 of them, helium faced $2.37 cardinal successful imaginable liability, they said.

This includes $1.59 cardinal successful civilian and transgression penalties related to Neuralink’s “alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act portion performing experiments connected monkeys and pigs” and $1.19 cardinal successful imaginable liability related to Tesla’s “allegedly mendacious oregon misleading statements astir its autopilot and afloat self-driving features,” the study states.

For the different 25, the subcommittee was not capable to estimation liability, the Democrats said.

“The information is that the breathtaking scope and standard of benefits Mr. Musk is gaining from his contiguous presumption whitethorn ne'er beryllium known, and that is by design. The soundlessness is strategic, and it is dangerous,” the study says.

The study comes aft Musk precocious said helium plans to measurement backmost from his relation astatine DOGE. “Starting adjacent month, I'll beryllium allocating acold much of my clip to Tesla,” helium said past week.

The damning findings besides get days aft a caller canvass recovered that his popularity is falling. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos canvass recovered that 35 percent of Americans o.k. of the mode the tech billionaire is handling his job, compared to 57 percent who disapprove.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, ranking Democratic subordinate connected the subcommittee, besides sent letters Musk’s companies and asked them to supply accusation by May 11.

White House communications manager Steven Cheung blasted Blumenthal arsenic “clearly suffering from a debilitating and [incurable] lawsuit of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has wilted his brain,” successful a connection to CNBC.