White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said in a press statement on Monday that Elon Musk, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump, is considered a “special government employee.” She added that she could not disclose details about whether Musk has access to classified documents, but she confirmed that he is fully committed to applicable federal laws.
A senior White House official confirmed that Musk works as a “special government employee” but does not receive a salary and explained that he follows the relevant laws.
As part of his role in the US government, Trump has tasked Musk, who continues to run Tesla and SpaceX, with working on a project to improve the efficiency of the federal government by reducing the number of government employees. Musk, the richest man in the world, leads efforts to reduce government spending under the Trump administration through the “Department of Government Efficiency,” also known as “DOG.”
In a tweet on the X platform, Musk said: “The only way to stop corruption and waste of taxpayer money is to follow the flow of money and pause suspicious transactions for review.” Trump praised Musk for his efforts in cutting costs, saying: “Sometimes we disagree with him, but he is doing a great job.” White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that billionaire Elon Musk, a key ally of President Donald Trump, is a “special government employee.” She added that she could not provide any details on whether Musk has access to classified documents, but she said that Musk complies with all applicable federal laws.
A senior White House official said that Musk is a “special government employee” but does not receive a salary, adding that he follows the law.
Elon Musk announces special jobs at the Department of Government Efficiency
“The only way to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to track cash flows and temporarily suspend suspicious transactions for review,” Musk wrote on Twitter on Monday. Trump praised Musk’s ability to cut costs on Sunday, saying, “Sometimes we don’t agree with him and don’t go where he wants to go… but I think he’s doing a great job.”
In a controversial announcement, Elon Musk announced job openings for “highly intelligent revolutionaries” at the new Department of Government Efficiency, which he is leading at the behest of President Donald Trump. Musk said in a tweet on the X platform that the department is looking for “highly intelligent revolutionaries who are willing to work 80+ hours a week for free to cut unnecessary costs.
Deep Seek: The AI Company That Changed the Game
The new AI model, Deep seek R1, has taken the tech industry by storm, capturing the attention of many observers. The startup Deep Seek developed it a year ago and has managed to achieve a major breakthrough. The new model now rivals the capabilities of competitors such as GPT-4 from OpenAI, Llama from Meta, and Gemini from Google.
According to the company, it spent only $5.6 million to develop the AI model R1, while major American companies spend hundreds of millions, and even billions, to develop their AI technologies. Which makes it even more surprising that Deep Seek was able to achieve these achievements using relatively less capable AI chips, at a time when the United States is tightening restrictions on exporting these chips to China.
The development shocked Wall Street, and U.S. stocks were set for a sharp decline on Monday morning. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), a major supplier of artificial intelligence chips that has more than doubled in value.
The Importance of Deep Seek in the AI Market
The AI industry is one of the largest energy-consuming industries, and it has huge costs. Companies like Meta plan to spend more than $65 billion this year on AI development, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes that the industry needs trillions of dollars to support the infrastructure.
The emergence of Deep Seek and its success in achieving a capability similar to American models at a low cost reveals a major shift in the understanding of the AI industry. This progress could open up new opportunities for China and its ilk to challenge US dominance in this field.
The impact of Deep Seek on the United States
Deep Seek has drawn mixed reactions in the United States. Previously, the US administration worked to impose sanctions on companies that might compete with it in certain technological areas, with the aim of enhancing national security. But significant decline in the cost of developing AI models could change that trend, raising questions about the efficiency of US spending in this field.
Can DeepSeek compete with American companies?
While some believe that Deep Seek’s low costs will change the equation of the AI industry, it is too early to say whether this startup will be able to compete with the giant American companies. Some analysts see this move as opening new doors for competition, but they doubt Deep Seek’s ability to continue in light of the continuous innovation witnessed by the United States in this field.
But Deep Seek has raised doubts about this idea, and threatened the aura surrounding the American technology industry. United States may have bought time by imposing restrictions on the export of chips, but its progress in field of artificial intelligence has diminished significantly despite these measures.
Deep Seek may show that cutting off access to key technology does not necessarily mean the United States will win.
