Billionaire CEO Elon Musk told Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz that “magic money computers” within the U.S. government are generating payments “out of thin air,” leaving lawmakers clueless about federal spending.
Speaking on Cruz’s podcast, Musk revealed that 14 such systems exist within the U.S. Treasury and other agencies, transferring large sums without the necessary evidence to justify the payments.
Musk claimed that in departments housing one of these systems, reported spending could be off by as much as 5 percent of the budget when presented to Congress, while Cruz suggested that these improper payments could potentially total “trillions” of dollars.
“They’re mostly at Treasury,” Musk said about the computers discovered by his U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, “but there’s some at [Health and Human Services], there’s one or two at State, there’s some at [the Department of Defense].”
“I think we’ve found now 14 magic money computers. They just send money out of nothing,” he told the Texas Republican senator.
Expounding on DOGE’s discovery, the unconventional entrepreneur explained that the presence of these computers prevents the Treasury Dept. from fully informing lawmakers about the federal government’s total spending.
“You may think that government computers all communicate with each other, synchronize, and accurately calculate where funds are going, making the numbers you see as a senator the real ones. They’re not,” he said.
“How does it work?” Cruz asked.
Musk responded: “It just issues payments!”
The federal government, as the issuer of the U.S. dollar, possesses the ability to print or create money to meet its financial obligations, a concept known as modern monetary theory.
Earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed reports that President Trump was unhappy with Musk’s role at DOGE and that Musk was planning to leave the administration.
“First of all, that report I saw was total fake news,” Vance said in a Fox News interview, referring to a Politico article claiming Trump had privately told cabinet members that Musk would soon be “stepping back.”
Vance clarified that Musk was brought on as a special advisor for a six-month initiative aimed at streamlining government operations and reducing bureaucracy. A White House special advisor role comes with a 130-day limit, which is set to expire in late May or early June. However, Vice President Vance said Elon Musk would continue to advise the administration even after that period ends.
“We said that’s going to take about six months, and that’s what Elon signed up for, but of course, he’s going to continue to be an advisor,” the vice president told the outlet, adding that the DOGE effort would go on even after Musk’s departure.
“The work of DOGE is not even close to done, the work of Elon is not even close to done,” Vance assured the outlet.
Vance praised Musk for helping eliminate “fraudulent grants” in the federal government and for addressing abuses within the Social Security system.
“DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and that work is going to continue after Elon leaves but fundamentally Elon is going to remain a friend and advisor of both me and the president and he’s done a lot of good things,” Vance said.
Since Musk started aggressively cutting federal programs and slashing grants favored by Democrats, he has become a target for criticism from the left. Protesters have targeted his Tesla company, with some even vandalizing the cars in public.
The wave of backlash has made some Republicans uneasy, prompting a few to urge President Trump to distance himself from Musk.
However, sources familiar with the situation told DailyMail.com that any rumors of a falling-out between Musk and the president are “garbage” and “fake news.”
This “scoop” is garbage.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 2, 2025
Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete. https://t.co/Brppff6SKi
Musk went on to retweet the press secretary’s post, adding: “Yeah, fake news.”
