Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) became a impermanent authorities statement connected January 20 done President Donald Trump's executive order. In conscionable 2 weeks, Musk has led the section to adopt a Silicon Valley-like startup mentality towards its activity hours, pinch Musk precocious bragging that DOGE is putting successful extra-long hours arsenic it tries to trim backmost connected authorities bureaucracy.
In a Sunday station connected X, Musk wrote that "DOGE is moving 120 hour[s] a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically activity 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing truthful fast."
Related: Elon Musk Warns Tesla Workers They'll Be Sleeping connected the Production Line to Build Its New Mass-Market EV
The time prior, Musk wrote connected X that "Very fewer successful the bureaucracy really activity the weekend, truthful it's for illustration the opposing squad conscionable leaves the section for 2 days! Working the play is simply a superpower."
A 120-hour workweek intends 17 hours and 8 minutes of activity each day, including Saturday and Sunday. According to information for December from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the emblematic U.S. worker useful an mean of 34.3 hours per week.
DOGE is moving 120 hr a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically activity 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing truthful fast. https://t.co/dXtrL5rj1K
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025DOGE isn't the first statement wherever Musk has implemented workweeks longer than average. When Musk took power of Twitter successful October 2022, he told unit that they should expect to activity 80 hours per week and person less perks for illustration free food. Less than half of Twitter's 4,000 labor chose to stay, pinch the mostly opting for 3 months' severance instead.
It isn't conscionable Twitter. Workers astatine Tesla, wherever Elon Musk is CEO, person reported sleeping connected the floor aft 12-hour shifts aft moving six aliases 7 days per week.
Musk elaborated connected really he put successful the hours connected an April episode of the podcast, In Good Company, hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of $1.6 trillion Norges Bank.
"I've done many, galore stretches of 100-hour weeks, wherever astir six hours per time is sleeping," Musk said. "I would not urge that. That's for emergencies."
Musk said that he put successful those 100-hour weeks during the early days of his startups erstwhile he would sleep nether his desk and activity "every waking hour." He defined those days arsenic stretches of ultra-hard activity and said he could prolong the sprint for a fewer years astatine a time.
Related: Elon Musk Has Resorted to Sleeping astatine Tesla's Factory to Try to Get it Back connected Track
Roi Ginat, CEO of Endless AI, told Business Insider that while he routinely useful 85 hours a week, moving a squad "too difficult for excessively long" is simply a look for "fatigue and burnout."
"I judge that Elon's tweet is astir an effort, not a caller modular astatine DOGE," Ginat stated.
DOGE is not a authorities agency but a group created to activity alongside the White House to bring down costs. Musk is aiming to trim astatine slightest $1 trillion from the national fund done DOGE. It's unclear really galore group are moving alongside him, but a December announcement from Trump shows that Katie Miller, the erstwhile lawman property caput for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, is portion of the DOGE team.