How does Elon Musk define ‘efficiency’? We asked his former employees

Elon Musk has ambitious plans for his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he will co-lead with Vivek Ramaswamy if Donald Trump assumes office in January. Before the election, Musk pledged to help reduce the federal budget by $2 trillion, targeting government waste. Musk described the effort as a shock to the system, aiming to address inefficiencies within the government. DOGE will operate outside the government, offering advice and guidance rather than direct oversight, as Trump explained.

To understand Musk's approach to efficiency, Fast Company spoke with some of his former employees. According to Jim Cantrell, a former SpaceX executive, Musk is "ruthless" and deeply involved in understanding both the goals and methods of his teams. Musk’s fearlessness in the face of failure is a defining trait, although this unorthodox approach can sometimes come at a high cost. Melissa Ingle, a former senior data scientist at Twitter, recalls Musk's aggressive cost-cutting measures after his $44 billion acquisition of the platform, including mass layoffs with no transition period. While Musk won a legal battle over denying severance to Twitter employees, he did have to settle with an Irish worker for $580,000 over wrongful termination.

Musk’s approach to managing his companies, including SpaceX and Twitter, has drawn criticism from some former employees. Lawsuits are pending over alleged wrongful dismissals and claims of misconduct within his companies, with the National Labor Relations Board investigating the latter.