Questionable postings

Racism scandal: Musk employee resigns

Elon Musk's gesture at an event to mark the inauguration of US President Donald Trump drew criticism - critics said it was too similar to the Hitler salute.

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANGELA WEISS)

An employee of Elon Musk's governing body has resigned after being linked to racist online posts. Among other things, he called for hatred of Indians to be normalized. "I was racist before it was cool," he declared in another post.

The 25-year-old was one of only two representatives of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with access to the Treasury Department's central remittance system. There was initially no word on a replacement for him.

"I was racist before it was cool".
The Wall Street Journal linked a now-deleted account on Twitter and its successor platform X to the 25-year-old. In one of the posts, the author wrote that he would not marry outside his ethnic group, even for money. In another, he called for hatred towards Indians to be normalized, referring to the large number of Indian employees in Silicon Valley. Last July, it said: "I was racist before it was cool."

The journalist who started the case in the "Wall Street Journal" reports on X about his resignation: 

Many employees from Musk's companies recruited for agency
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in response to an inquiry from the newspaper about the account that the 25-year-old had resigned. He had previously worked for Musk's space company SpaceX, among others. According to the New York Times, DOGE currently has around 40 employees. According to media reports, many were recruited from Musk's companies. In addition to SpaceX, he also runs the electric car manufacturer Tesla, among others.

Agency to cut government spending
Trump had tasked tech billionaire Musk with reducing government spending. The Department of Government Efficiency, which is attached to the White House, was formed for this purpose. So far, there has been no information on who officially heads DOGE. However, Musk clearly plays a key role.

A picture of the young employee, who has now resigned, is shown here: 

The committee is trying to place people in various US agencies and gather information about their spending. At the Treasury Department, DOGE representatives were given access to the central system through which all sorts of payments are transferred.

Restrictions at the Treasury Department
Following a complaint by trade unions, a court ruling stipulated that only two named DOGE representatives were allowed access to the system. They are only allowed to view data - but not to change anything or stop payments. The court documents did not initially update the decision with a new name.

Meanwhile, the magazine "Wired" reported that, contrary to the Trump administration's assurances, the DOGE representative had initially been able to change software code in the Treasury Department's transfer system. It was only later that his access was restricted, according to informed sources.

Meanwhile, further resistance to Musk's activities is emerging. New York Attorney General Letitia James and her colleagues from twelve US states announced a lawsuit against DOGE's access to the transfer system, which they describe as unlawful.