In addition to proposing Elon Musk as the head of the "New Government Efficiency Commission" (DOGE) and serving as the "Cost Reduction Minister," people currently know very little about how the U.S. President-elect Trump will appoint the world's richest man in the new government.

However, the classic cases of Elon Musk's management of his companies in the past undoubtedly have provided insights into how this billionaire will cut costs in the new government under Trump's leadership.

When it comes to improving company efficiency, Elon Musk has long been known for achieving stunning success through "thunderous means": for example, he has transformed Tesla and SpaceX from struggling startups into industry leaders, often saying that the chances of these companies succeeding were less than 10%.

After taking over Twitter (now known as X) at the end of 2022, Musk swiftly cut costs for the financially troubled social media platform, eventually laying off about 80% of the staff. Despite facing criticism and questioning about his treatment of employees, the company has been operating smoothly since successfully downsizing.

Musk has even suggested that other companies should also streamline - he believes that layoffs can improve productivity. Musk stated at an event last year, "In any company, there are people who help push work forward and others who lag behind holding back progress."

His radical measures in reforming Twitter subsequently inspired some other technology companies to initiate simplification strategies. Now, many American voters cannot help but start calling for:

They hope that in the future, Musk, who holds the "magic sword," can also do the same for the government - cutting down on government departments that are idling, oversized, and wasting taxpayers' money.

How will Musk 'dominate the world'?

Last month, when talking about his role as the head of the newly established efficiency department of the new government, Musk said he believed he could cut the federal budget by $2 trillion—about a third of the US government's spending for the fiscal year ending September 30.

Conservatives (Republicans) have long been dissatisfied with the size and spending of the US government. However, talking about and actually controlling spending are two different things. Trump's first term is an example: when he hoped to win public support by introducing new spending, the deficit kept expanding.

By the end of the 2024 fiscal year under Biden's leadership, the US government's deficit had risen to $1.8 trillion.

It is worth mentioning that Musk does have rich experience in cost reduction, which is also the 'daily work' of the auto industry. Musk once pointed out to analysts in October, 'Reducing costs is like playing a coin game. If you have 10,000 parts on a car—which is a very rough estimate, and each part costs $4, then manufacturing this car would cost $0.04 million. So, if you want to reduce the cost of producing this car to $0.035 million, you have to save an average of 50 cents from each of these 10,000 parts.'

For Musk, when shifting roles to within government departments, the challenge he faces is that over half of the US federal budget is made up of social security, medical insurance, military spending, and federal debt interest, which are either not promised to be cut by Trump or difficult to cut.

However, with the Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate and likely to continue controlling the House of Representatives, the new government may indeed have a rare window of opportunity to cut spending. Of course, Democrats may still try to slow down the pace of spending cuts in the Senate, as the Republican control advantage in the Senate is not too great. In the Senate, many important bills require 60 votes to overcome obstruction procedures (filibuster), which prevent extending debates and blocking votes. Even if the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, Democrats can still use their minority power to slow down or prevent the passage of certain cut measures.

On another level, even if Congress does not approve spending cuts, some of Trump's supporters have also suggested that Trump and Musk could try to use executive measures to reclaim approved expenditures by Congress.

Musk has previously made similar suggestions to reduce regulations on such administrative operations. "If Congress creates an institution, usually if you look at the laws... the original mission of this institution is actually very simple, but over time, the power of the institution often expands significantly - starting to do things that Congress has never authorized," Musk said in a podcast this week.

Musk pointed out, "But actually, you can completely reduce these institutions, make them smaller, and require them to follow what Congress authorizes, instead of everything else they are doing."

Of course, Musk also emphasizes that some regulations are still necessary and tries to ensure - if DOGE inadvertently cut too much, the government can simply revoke it.

Is it better to let reinvention take place instead of letting the new perish?

In the business field, Musk has adopted similar rapid and disruptive ways to change the status quo. A few years ago at Tesla, Musk stated that he would significantly reduce the physical stores of auto manufacturers, but later withdrew the decision due to pressure from landlords. Sometimes, Musk has also needed to quickly cut costs due to excessive spending, such as in 2018, when Tesla faced near bankruptcy as the electric car company encountered difficulties in ramping up production of the mass-market Model 3 sedan.

Over the years, Musk's cost-cutting practices have not only been about reducing the number of employees: he also seems to favor certain positions more prominently. For example, when increasing production in his factories, he prioritizes retaining or increasing frontline workers over those in management or administrative positions.

Similarly, Musk also discussed which types of jobs he believes the government should cut and how resources should be reallocated. "Our (current government) clearly misplaced its focus, hiring a significant number of personnel to audit and track Americans' taxes, rather than employing key personnel to protect our borders. This makes no sense," Musk said last month.

Musk also openly acknowledges that his budget-cutting work may cause short-term economic disruptions. "This will inevitably bring some temporary difficulties, but it will ensure long-term prosperity," Musk stated.

And just as Musk has previously told employees when taking 'thunderous reform measures' at his company, the consequences of not doing so or doing it wrong are terrible - bankruptcy.

Although most CEOs prefer to avoid discussing the word 'bankruptcy,' Musk often sees it as a motivational tool to create a sense of urgency and increase risk awareness.

Shortly after taking over Twitter, Musk mentioned the possibility of bankruptcy and discussed the necessary changes. Similarly, at SpaceX, where he served as CEO, he warned employees in an email that failure to change could mean bankruptcy. In Tesla, as CEO, he also took a tough stance.

"Get ready for more intense work than most of you have ever experienced," he wrote in a 2012 internal memo at Tesla, the auto manufacturer was preparing to launch a new car. 'Reforming the industry is not something the faint-hearted can bear, but there is nothing more valuable and exciting than this.'

At the same time, Musk's reputation for being decisive and impatient is almost well-known.

Before taking over Twitter, Musk sent a pointed message to the company's then-CEO, highlighting his straightforward management style: 'What have you done this week?' This statement has now become a famous meme on social media, with some users joking that Musk may soon be preparing to send a similar message to officials in US government institutions.

This statement has now become a famous meme on social media, with some users joking that Musk may soon be preparing to send a similar message to officials in US government institutions.

Editor/rice