Elon Musk confidently compared himself to the Buddha as he insisted his federal cost-cutting efforts would continue on long after he leaves the White House.
“Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?” the Tesla founder said Wednesday when asked who would lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) when he leaves the role.
“Was it not stronger after he passed away?” he added, according to the Washington Post.
The world’s richest man offered up the comparison as he sat down with reporters at the White House to mark Trump’s 100th day in office.
While the billionaire tech entrepreneur’s status as a special government employee officially expires May 30, he is still expected to advise the DOGE effort informally.
“I’m willing to contribute on average, one to two days a week, which, you know, probably means coming to DC every other week for three days, type of thing. As indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do it,” Musk said.
He added that his future involvement was “at the discretion of the president.”
“Obviously, if the president or the Cabinet has an emergency that they want me to respond to then, I’ll do that. But otherwise, it’s just, I think it’s pretty manageable with one to two days on average.”
He was adamant that DOGE would continue even after he steps back — saying roughly 100 still work for the budget-slashing department.
“Everybody’s not leaving,” he said. “No, some will stay on, some will not. So, it’s up to them. This is basically a volunteer organization.”
“DOGE is kind of a way of life … we make converts all the time,” he added.
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