While Elon Musk remains a divisive figure in the tech world and beyond, one US senator has made their feelings clear and isn't mincing their words when it comes to the world's richest man. More than just being the CEO of Tesla and Space X as well as the owner of X (formerly Twitter), Musk is finding time to head up the Department of Government Efficiency.
Tasked with cutting some $2 trillion off government spending, Musk's latest move saw him asking staffers to send a five-point email explaining what they’d accomplished in the past week.
Government employees were told they have until midnight on February 24 to respond to this mandate, while those who don't comply are considered as having handed in their resignation.
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As well as many branding it as an invasion of privacy, there seems to be confusion about whether staff have to respond. The head of the FBI has told its own employees to ignore the email, while others like the National Security Agency and the Internal Revenue Service have suggested they hold tight.
Now, Senator Tina Smith has spoken out about Musk's new position of power, calling him a 'd*ck'. Posting on X, Smith shared screenshots of Musk's email and said: "This is the ultimate d*ck boss move from Musk - except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a d*ck."
In a separate post, she added: "I bet a lot of people have had an experience like this with a bad boss - there’s an email in your inbox on Saturday night saying, ‘Prove to me your worthiness by Monday or else.’ I’m on the side of the workers, not the billionaire a**hole bosses.”
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Musk responded to Smith's original post and said, "What did you get done last week?"
Not willing to take this one lying down, Smith concluded: "@ElonMusk I hate to break it to you but you aren’t my boss. I answer to the people of Minnesota.
"But since you bring it up, I spent last week fighting to stop tax breaks for billionaires like you, paid for by defunding health care for moms and babies."
Musk's email came after President Donald Trump praised the work of the DOGE but asked Musk to be 'more aggressive'.
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The tech billionaire has defended his email, saying that it should only take minutes to do. Adding: "This email is a very basic pulse check."
Although Musk only gave government employees 48 hours to respond, he said he was receiving "a large number of good responses" on February 23. He said those he's already heard from 'should be considered for promotion'.
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Still, Smith doesn't seem to be alone in her thoughts. Supporting the senator, someone responded to Musk saying: "So you think you’re the supervisor of all the senators too? Unbelievable. Don’t you need to be busy getting us to Mars?"
Another chimed in: "You’re not her boss bro."
A third concluded: "Bro. Any goodwill you had anywhere is evaporating. Holeee fook."