Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, ignited a fresh wave of confusion and controversy within the US federal government after issuing a second ultimatum to federal employees: justify their jobs or face termination, according to Reuters.
Musk’s latest move comes amid pushback from federal agencies and labour unions, raising questions about the limits of his authority and the broader implications of his downsizing efforts.
Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.
Over the weekend, Musk sent an email to federal workers demanding they summarise their accomplishments from the past week. He warned that failure to respond would be considered a resignation.
While some agencies, such as the US Treasury Department, instructed employees to comply, others, including the Pentagon, advised against it. The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ultimately told workers they could ignore the email.
Agencies grapple with conflicting guidance
Despite OPM’s guidance urging employees not to share classified or sensitive information, some agencies continued to encourage workers to respond to Musk’s email. For example, a senior manager at the General Services Administration (GSA) told employees that responding was voluntary but “strongly encouraged.”
Musk’s efforts to streamline the federal government, spearheaded by his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have already led to the layoff of more than 20,000 workers.
The Trump administration has also offered buyouts to 75,000 employees as part of its broader downsizing agenda. The federal workforce currently numbers about 2.3 million.
On Monday, labour unions updated their lawsuit to request that Musk’s threatening email be ruled illegal. Meanwhile, a federal judge has blocked Musk’s DOGE team from accessing sensitive data maintained by the Education Department and OPM, further complicating his efforts to overhaul the federal workforce.
