Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss his waste-cutting efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commission.
During the meeting, Musk took aim at what he described as $2 trillion in deficits, stating that America “simply cannot sustain” that amount of debt. As of Wednesday, the U.S. national debt has ballooned to $36,220,749,649,855.42.
“Just the interest on the national debt now exceeds the Defense Department spending,” Musk claimed. “We spend a lot on the Defense Department, but we’re spending like $1 trillion on interest.”
“If this continues, the country will go, become de facto bankrupt.”
Musk then described DOGE as “not an optional thing” and argued that it was “central” to reforming the U.S. economy.
“That’s the reason I’m here,” the tech billionaire said. “And taking a lot of flack, and getting a lot of death threats, by the way.”