Elon Musk is eager to start slashing government spending in what he calls a “target-rich environment.”
Musk, whom President-elect Donald Trump has enlisted to lead a government-downsizing operation known as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” described his upcoming endeavor Wednesday in a conversation with Mark Penn, CEO of the marketing group Stagwell.
The Tesla CEO hedged on his goal of getting $2 trillion in spending cuts even as he described the government as flush with opportunities for slashing spending. He also doubled down on his criticisms of California and endangered species policies, blaming those efforts for worsening the damage caused by the state’s deadly wildfires.
“I think we will, we’ll try for $2 trillion,” Musk said of the previously stated goal for spending cuts. “I think that’s like the best case outcome.” But he acknowledged that doing so would be tough. “I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 [trillion].”
