Is Elon Musk a government employee? Here’s why it matters

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, but when it comes to his work with the federal government, his status is a lot less clear. While he’s firmly in charge of Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whether he will actually become a government employee is still an unanswered question.

That might seem like a technicality. Musk has Trump’s ear and the two have basically been inseparable for months now. But as Trump’s second term gets underway and DOGE begins to have actual power in the administration, whether or not Musk is named a “special government employee” could have some real impacts—as well as lead to some legal challenges, some of which have already been filed.

Since DOGE is not an official government department, Musk did not have to go through any sort of vetting or confirmation process. The department will report to the White House chief of staff Susie Wiles via an administrator (though it’s unclear if Musk will fill that role), according to the executive order establishing it. DOGE will actually be a reorganization (and renaming) of an existing division called the United States Digital Service, which was established in August 2014 by President Barack Obama. 

Elon Musk was initially expected to have an office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex, but not part of the West Wing. Now, according to a report in the New York Times, Musk might be moving into the same building as Trump, giving him even more access to the executive office. 

Musk’s formal employment status will impact what sort of restrictions he could face. (Fast Company reached out to the White House inquiring about Musk’s employee designation and will update this story if we receive a reply.) 

If Musk becomes a special government employee, he would face conflict-of-interest restrictions that could impact several of his businesses, which have several billion dollars in government contracts. He also would have to file financial disclosure forms, unless he chose to take no salary (something he has indicated he is open to).

Also, with special government employee status, Musk would be restricted by federal ethics laws, which make it illegal for any government employees to participate in official matters in which they, their families, or their organizations have a financial interest. (Trump, though, could give Musk a written waiver from those, according to a report in the Times.)

But remaining a private citizen doing work for the government might not align with Musk’s goals, either. In doing so, he would run into a rule: the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This law requires advisory committees to make committee meetings open to the public, along with all documents and materials submitted to or produced by the department. As a special government employee, DOGE would have the option of conducting some business in full view of the public and some in a more private manner.

Elon Musk has said DOGE will work with “full transparency.” DOGE, so far, has been largely operating in secret, aside from occasional posts on X.

Of course, if opponents have their way, the whole question of Musk’s status as a special government employee could be moot. Minutes after Trump was sworn in on Monday, a lawsuit was filed by National Security Counselors, a public interest law firm, alleging DOGE violated federal transparency laws tied to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

DOGE, the suit alleges, has failed to allow the public to attend meetings, keep minutes, file a charter with Congress, and more, as Musk and crew began looking for potential cuts shortly after the election was called. Ideas for cuts, the Washington Post reports, were exchanged via encrypted messages on the Signal app.

That suit is just one of four filed against DOGE on Monday. They hope to shut down the department until it begins to comply with the transparency rules. 

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