Elon Musk is reneging on his biggest DOGE promise. In a live interview on X Wednesday evening with political strategist Mark Penn, the billionaire conceded that his initial goal of cutting the federal budget by “at least $2 trillion” was a taller task than he first believed.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that his budget-cutting effort on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump would most likely not find $2 trillion in savings, backtracking on a goal he set earlier as co-head of a new advisory body,

A deep philosophical rift between the two billionaire leaders of the “Department of Government Efficiency” left Musk alone at its top, which could give him more power than envisioned President Donald Trump’s order establishing the “Department of Government Efficiency” aims to give billionaire Elon Musk’s team sweeping access to operations at federal agencies,