Elon Musk says his new position within the US government is the 'most absurd outcome' he could've possibly imagined for his career

President Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, the same day he signed an executive order tasking Elon Musk to front the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Elon Musk has revealed that he never expected to become part of President Donald Trump’s inner circle.

The billionaire, who is known for his work with Tesla, SpaceX and X, was tasked by Trump to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, which aims to reduce federal spending and save taxpayers money.

The initiative, which was announced in January 2024, has already seen mass layoffs across the government, the removal of diversity, equality and inclusion programs, and sizeable cuts to the Department of Education.

Despite claims by the White House that Musk is not an employee of DOGE, he is a Senior Advisor to the President and has already appeared in the Oval Office to defend the controversial cuts that DOGE has already made.

“We are trying to be as transparent as possible… I don’t know of a case where an organisation has been more transparent,” he said of the initiative.

“All of our actions are fully public,” he added, before explaining that he expects to be “scrutinised nonstop” by officials.

As Musk continues his mission to reduce the US’s national debt (which stands at $36tn) and save taxpayers money, he is also juggling his roles as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, CTO and executive chairman of X, and President of the Musk Foundation.

Amid all of that, the reported father-of-14 recently took some time out to sit down with Joe Rogan for a three-hour interview.

During the chat, which was broadcast on Friday on the host’s podcast, the pair discussed how it felt to be part of President Trump’s inner circle.

The conversation was brought about by the host, who asked whether Musk had become part of the Republican US government on his to-do list.

“You didn’t have this as a career aspiration?” Rogan asked.

“No, this is the most absurd outcome I could possibly imagine actually,” the Tesla CEO replied.

“DOGE started as like a meme coin it was like a joke cryptocurrency involving memes and dogs.”

Musk explained that he was originally going to call his company the Government Efficiency Commission, but decided to switch up the “boring” name after fans told him it should be the Department of Government Efficiency instead.

“It’s more evidence of the simulation,” Rogan remarked, earning an affirmative “totally” from his guest.

“Our mascot is a cute dog,” Musk said before likening the DOGE coin to that of a casino.

“If you expect to win at the casino you’re being a fool. So if you expect to win at meme coins you’re being foolish. Don’t sink your life savings into a meme coin!”

Parrying him, Rogan stated that you can “gamble a little” and “ride waves” with your money instead.

“If you want to have some fun then play with meme coins,” Musk added.

Dogecoin, an open-source peer-to-peer digital currency, is considered the first “meme coin”. It was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who aimed to make a cryptocurrency that was a "joke" and "a parody of the cryptocurrency enthusiasts who invested in Bitcoin".

The coin, which is named after the meme of a Shiba Inu dog that was popular at the time, has since become one of the most well-known cryptocurrencies in the world. It is also one of the most volatile, with the price often fluctuating wildly in response to news and events.

At the start of 2021, Dogecoin was trading at around $0.07. However, the price soared to a high of over $0.80 in May 2021, following a massive rally that was fueled by interest from retail investors on social media and support from Musk, who is a known fan of the coin.

Dogecoin is used to pay for food and merchandise at some restaurants and stores, and it can also be tipped to content creators on social media.

It is accepted as payment for Tesla vehicles in Canada and some European countries.

The coin is also sponsored by Watford Football Club in the EFL Championship, while the likes of Snoop Dogg, Gene Simmons and Mark Cuban have all promoted it.