Elon Musk reflected on his 100 days in government service, which included playing video games in his West Wing office, sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom, raiding the White House freezer for Haagen-Dazs, and radically reshaping the size and scope of the federal government.

‘In the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I´d like. I think we could be more effective,’ Musk said in an interview with reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. ‘But we’ve made progress.’

He called his Department of Government Efficiency a way of life and compared himself to Buddha, arguing his direct involvement isn’t needed for the work to continue.

‘Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?’ he said, according to The Washington Post. ‘Was it not stronger after he passed away?’

Musk is cutting back on his role at DOGE to focus on his own business interests – a decision that came after Telsa saw a drop in profits.

‘The amount of time that it’s necessary for me to spend here is much less,’ he said. ‘And I can return to primarily running my companies, which do need me.’

But Musk will still be in Washington a few days a week and will keep his office in the West Wing.

The richest man in the world called President Donald Trump a ‘good friend’ and described staying over in the White House residence.

‘The president is — I guess we’re good friends,’ Musk said, ‘And we’ll be on Air Force One or Marine One. And then he’s like, ‘Hey, do you want to stay over?’ I’m like, ‘Sure.’ 

He emphasized it was Trump who invited him and not him asking for a bed.

‘I didn’t request it to be clear,’ Musk said. 

He also revealed Trump is a great host who would give him tips, like how to call down stairs to the White House kitchens and request a late night snack.

‘He’ll actually call, like, late at night and say, ‘Oh, by the way, make sure you get some ice cream from the kitchen,’ Musk said.

He admitted he demolished an entire container of carmel Haagen-Dazs on one of those occasions. 

‘It was epic. I mean, don’t tell RFK,’ he said, in reference to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. ‘This stuff is amazing. I ate a whole tub of it, added three pounds in one night.’

But when asked for the exact number of nights he stayed in the Lincoln bedroom, Musk demurred, according to Fox News: ‘I don’t know if I should say the number —more than once.’

In his comments to reporters, Musk provided the most detailed overview of DOGE yet.

He claimed his controversial agency had saved the federal government $160 billion – but that’s far short of the $2 trillion goal he set last year.

Musk said he could see his team hitting the $1 trillion in savings.

He also noted his group – which is about 100 people – had cut about 1% of the federal workforce, or 20,000 people.

But his work also has been subject to numerous lawsuits.  Protests against him have taken place around the country. His Tesla dealerships – and the electric cars themselves – have been attacked.

His group’s access to sensitive government data has raised questions about privacy. Musk’s government contracts and his access to the departments that issue them has raised questions about conflict of interest. 

And Democratic lawmakers are tallying the federal funds approved by Congress that DOGE has blocked, setting up a constitutional struggle between two branches of government. 

Musk shrugged it off.

‘It’s sort of, how much pain is the Cabinet and the Congress willing to take?’ he said. ‘It can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.’ 

The billionaire, who spent roughly a quarter billion dollars to help Trump win the White House, became a part of the administration from the start. And he’s been a near constant presence at the president’s side.

He joined Trump in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, and dinners on the patio of Mar-a-Lago, sometimes with his young son X at his side.

Musk pitched the initiative to cut the federal government and Trump approved it, signing an executive order on his first day in office to establish the agency. 

Musk and his team hit the ground running but kept their work shrouded behind closed doors, only announcing things when they were done: such as the end of such agencies of USAID. 

DOGE was set up to terminate on July 4, 2026. But Musk said it could stay in existence until 2028, which would be the end of Trump’s second term in office.

‘I think so,’ he said of DOGE being extended, according to Axios. ‘It’s up to the president.’

He said the job was mostly fun but he didn’t enjoy the personal attacks or the attacks on his Tesla dealership.

‘It’s like 60 percent fun, 70 percent fun. Depends on the week,’ he said. ‘Being attacked relentlessly is not super fun. Seeing cars burning is not fun.’

Musk’s work has made him a national caricature. He’s been mocked on Saturday Night Live, vilified on the floor of Congress, and endlessly mocked online.

But he’s kept his sense of humor 

And he reminded reporters that the title of his group – DOGE – started as a meme coin.

‘Doesn’t the absurdity of that seem, like are we in a simulation here? Or what’s going on?’ he said laughing, per Bloomberg. ‘Doesn’t it seem absurd?’

He noted his DOGE team found ‘hundreds of thousands’ of fraud cases and have referred some of those cases to the Justice Department, including 57 cases of voter fraud, from ‘a very small sample of states.’ 

He is personally prioritizing which cases went to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

‘How many can the DOJ actually prosecute?’ Musk asked. ‘They can’t go after that many people. So, then we’re trying to find the cases that seem to be the most fair cut.’

Musk is not completely going away. 

He plans to spend a day or two per week working on DOGE matters and ‘every other week’ in Washington as he turns his attention back to Tesla, his electric car company.

He declined to say who would lead the department in his stead.

‘It’s a way of life, like Buddhism,’ Musk said. ‘You wouldn’t ask who would lead Buddhism.’

But he plans to keep his West Wing office, which he described as small and with no view.

It does have a massive computer monitor where Musk played video games including Diablo and ‘Pathfinder.’

The advantage, he said, was he was out of the reach of any would-be assassins.

‘It has a view of nothing. It has a window, but all you see is the HVAC unit,’ he said. ‘Which is fine. It’s harder to shoot me there … there’s not a good line of sight. I like my comically tiny office upstairs.’

Musk argued his presence wasn’t needed as much since DOGE was better established, arguing the first few months of the administration were like a startup but now the agency has found its rhythm. 

‘Now, we’re getting more of a rhythm, and so the amount of time that it’s necessary for me to spend here is much less, and I can return to primarily running my companies – which they need me,’ he said.

Musk made enemies during his time in the administration. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duff – in particular – had clashed with Musk over cuts to their workforces.

But Musk said it happens. 

‘We are making as much progress as we can there’s a lot of inertia in the government… So, it’s like, it’s not easy. This is, this is a way to make a lot of enemies and not that many friends,’ he said, according to ABC News. 

And he downplayed reports of clashes with specific Cabinet members.

 ‘At times, there will be some disagreements with the cabinet, but I’d say the relationship with the cabinet is extremely good,’ he said. ‘And you see that from the cabinet meeting this morning… the cabinet credited DOGE would make great progress.’

Musk joined Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. But it had the feel of a goodbye party with officials who had clashed with Musk praising his work, cracking jokes and engaging in awkward laughter.

Rubio publicly praised Musk’s work.

‘We went out and hired a consulting firm to help us organize ourselves. Luckily, they were free. They’re called the Department of Government Efficiency,’ he said as the room laughed.

Trump also praised Musk as he made his way out the door. 

‘You have been treated unfairly, but the vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you, and this whole room can say that very strong really been a tremendous help. You opened up a lot of eyes as to what can be done. And we just want to thank you very much,’ the president said.

It sounded like farewell remarks. 

And the entire room applauded after Trump finished.