Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that federal employees who failed to respond to his recent productivity email may get a second chance. However, he issued a stern warning that failure to comply again would lead to termination.
Musk’s Crackdown on Government Inefficiency
Musk, who chairs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been leading efforts to reduce wasteful government spending. As part of this initiative, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email titled “What did you do last week?” to federal employees. The email required them to submit five bullet points outlining their accomplishments from the past week.
While some agencies complied, others, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), instructed employees to ignore the request. The widespread noncompliance drew strong criticism from Musk, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration.
Musk Calls Out ‘Incompetence’
Hours before the Monday 11:59 p.m. deadline, Musk voiced his disappointment over the lack of response.
The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!
Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers.
Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are… https://t.co/QjSmY4ezpg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
“The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send! Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers,” Musk posted on X. Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent? Makes old Twitter look good. Didn’t think that was possible.”
His remarks sparked heated discussions online, with some supporting the initiative and others criticizing it as unnecessary micromanagement.
A Second Chance—With Consequences
In response to a post by conservative commentator Matt Walsh, Musk suggested that any federal worker who did not reply to the email, complained about it, or ignored it should be fired. However, he later clarified that employees would be given another chance at the discretion of President Donald Trump.
Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance.
Failure to respond a second time will result in termination. https://t.co/04xzgScXfj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2025
Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” Musk stated.
Parallels to Musk’s Twitter Takeover
Musk’s approach to government accountability mirrors his strategy during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter. At that time, he challenged former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to justify his role by asking him a straightforward question:
“What did you get done this week?”
After Musk fired Agrawal, he recently referenced the incident on X. Responding to a viral post comparing the two situations, he wrote: “Parag got nothing done. Parag was fired.”
Parag got nothing done.
Parag was fired. https://t.co/69Je8rpYoM
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
Government Agencies Under Scrutiny
As part of its audit, Musk’s DOGE is investigating federal agencies for wasteful spending, corruption, and inefficiency. His push for accountability aligns with President Trump’s broader initiative to reform the federal workforce.
The latest measures also come as President Trump has ordered federal employees to return to office work after five years of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has vowed to remove underperforming workers and eliminate unnecessary government expenses.
What’s Next?
With a final warning issued, federal employees now face a critical choice: comply with the email request or risk termination. As the deadline approaches for the second round of responses, it remains to be seen how many will follow through—or face the consequences of ignoring Musk’s directive.
