'Embarrassing': Elon Musk said to have 'little to show' for his time as 'first buddy'

Elon Musk will be leaving Washington with little to show for his controversial time in government, according to a new analysis.The tech billionaire spent more than $288 million of his own money to get Donald Trump re-elected and was rewarded with a perch overseeing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, but Axios reported that the most powerful political outsider ever is walking away with "a legacy of self-destruction.""He's leaving with his reputation wounded, relationships severed, companies in crisis, fortune diminished — and little to show for DOGE but chaos and contested savings," Axios reported. "Musk has publicly acknowledged the enormous toll that DOGE — which he's characterized as a patriotic, existential project — has taken on his private life."ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailedThe president still supports Musk, who called himself the "first buddy," but the tech CEO's favorability ratings have crashed as his team slashed federal programs, cut thousands of government jobs and hacked into the private data of millions of Americans, and his companies have lost billions of dollars in value as his personal brand became politically toxic."Tesla, battered by boycotts, protests and even firebombings, saw its net income plunge 71 percent in the first quarter — triggering Musk's decision this week to scale back his involvement in DOGE," Axios reported.Musk's net worth has dropped by a staggering $122 billion this year, almost as much as the $160 billion DOGE claims to have saved the government, but experts say that figure is wildly exaggerated."DOGE's verified savings have been less than 1/10 of 1 percent of federal spending," said Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow and budget expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute. "There have been embarrassing accounting errors, lots of public statements that turned out to be false or misleading, or actions slapped back by the courts."Republicans have hailed DOGE for its cuts to government spending, but experts say those savings are offset by cuts to the Internal Revenue Service."The spending savings are so small that they will be undoubtedly overwhelmed by the significant tax revenue losses which result from gutting IRS tax enforcement," Riedl said. "It makes a mockery of claims that DOGE is really just about cutting deficits."

Elon Musk will be leaving Washington with little to show for his controversial time in government, according to a new analysis. The tech billionaire spent more than $288 million of his own money to get Donald Trump re-elected and was rewarded with a perch overseeing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, but Axios reported that the most powerful political outsider ever is walking away with "a legacy of self-destruction." " He's leaving with his reputation wounded, relationships severed, companies in crisis, fortune diminished — and little to show for DOGE but chaos and contested savings," Axios reported.

"Musk has publicly acknowledged the enormous toll that DOGE — which he's characterized as a patriotic, existential project — has taken on his private life." ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailed The president still supports Musk, who called himself the "first buddy," but the tech CEO's favorability ratings have crashed as his team slashed federal programs, cut thousands of government jobs and hacked into the private data of millions of Americans, and his companies have lost billions of dollars in value as his personal brand became politically toxic . " Tesla , battered by boycotts, protests and even firebombings , saw its net income plunge 71 percent in the first quarter — triggering Musk's decision this week to scale back his involvement in DOGE," Axios reported.

Musk's net worth has dropped by a staggering $122 billion this year, almost as much as the $160 billion DOGE claims to have saved the government, but experts say that figure is wildly exaggerated. "DOGE's verified savings have been less than 1/10 of 1 percent of federal spending," said Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow and budget expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute. "There have been embarrassing accounting errors, lots of public statements that turned out to be false or misleading, or actions slapped back by the courts.

" Republicans have hailed DOGE for its cuts to government spending, but experts say those savings are offset by cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. "The spending savings are so small that they will be undoubtedly overwhelmed by the significant tax revenue losses which result from gutting IRS tax enforcement," Riedl said. "It makes a mockery of claims that DOGE is really just about cutting deficits.

".