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3471Kevin O’Leary, the businessman and media personality, offered a frank take last week on Elon Musk’s controversial time in Washington.
Speaking on Fox News, O’Leary said Musk underestimated how brutal the political scene would be, calling D.C. “a nasty place.”
“I think Elon himself would admit that Washington was a lot tougher than he thought it was gonna be,” O’Leary said.
“However, he brought into the consciousness on a bipartisan basis, the concept of auditing the government in perpetuity, which I think is a great idea.”
O’Leary Defends Musk’s Government Role
Musk’s final day as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) marked the end of a turbulent chapter.
The department was created under President Trump with the supposed goal of slashing wasteful spending and introducing private-sector efficiency to federal operations.
Musk aimed to save the federal government $2 trillion, a target he fell well short of. The reported savings are said to be around $180 billion, a number that is already being picked apart by analysts.
O’Leary, however, suggested Musk could have gotten there with more time. “He didn’t achieve a trillion-dollar savings, but had he stayed there long enough, he probably could have done it,” he said.
“However, he took a lot of crap for what he did.”
The DOGE initiative was polarizing from the start. While Musk was praised by some fiscal conservatives for his ambitious goals, many others criticized the plan as unrealistic and overly aggressive.
Several of DOGE’s cost-cutting strategies involved widespread layoffs, agency consolidations, and slashing research budgets, which disrupted essential public services.
Mounting Controversy and Legal Challenges
Criticism of Musk’s leadership reached a peak after several watchdog organizations raised alarms over DOGE’s lack of transparency.
The department operated with minimal oversight, taking advantage of legal exemptions that allowed it to bypass traditional bureaucratic checks.
One particularly controversial case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that DOGE could access sensitive Social Security data despite privacy concerns.
Policy experts have said that DOGE’s approach lacked nuance. “You can’t just apply Silicon Valley principles to a 240-year-old bureaucracy and expect miracles,” one analyst told The Guardian.
Others warned that the disruptions caused by DOGE’s cuts may have cost the government more in the long run, both financially and in terms of public trust.
According to a report by ProPublica, the true net savings from DOGE’s policies may be far lower than claimed.
Factoring in severance payments, contract termination penalties, and administrative delays, the real figure might be closer to $45 billion, and possibly negative if broader economic impacts are included.
Public Backlash
The relationship between Musk and President Trump also soured. After initially aligning with Trump’s cost-cutting rhetoric, Musk publicly criticized the administration’s spending habits.
He even called for Trump’s impeachment over unproven allegations involving Epstein-related court filings — a move that created a political firestorm.
That public split resulted in further alienation, with Musk losing support from key Republican lawmakers. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), once a vocal supporter, distanced himself from Musk’s rhetoric in recent interviews.
O’Leary said the backlash Musk experienced went beyond politics. “Everybody pushed back on him in a vicious manner,” he said.
“I also heard his brands — keying Teslas, burning dealerships, all this stuff. I don’t think he deserved that.”
Tesla and other Musk-linked companies saw a sharp increase in vandalism and boycotts during Musk’s tenure at DOGE.
Tesla’s stock dropped more than 20% during this period, and several dealerships across the country reported threats and property damage.
A Divisive Legacy
Despite all the criticism, O’Leary remains a supporter. “I’m a fan. The guy’s a modern-day da Vinci,” he said.
Still, many remain unconvinced that Musk’s efforts at government efficiency were successful — or even constructive. With Musk now stepping away from DOGE, the program’s future is unclear.
Some lawmakers have called for a full audit of DOGE’s spending and impact, while others want it shut down entirely.
What is obvious is that Musk’s time in government left a mark — and stirred up deep questions about whether tech-world strategies can really fix government inefficiency, or just result in chaos.
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