Musk’s DOGE Pledge Puts Spotlight on His Own Companies’ Spending

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has vowed to stop wasteful spending in Washington and slash the federal workforce under President Donald Trump. Musk is keen to “delete” entire US agencies, much in the way he likes to delete parts and processes at Tesla, SpaceX and the other four companies he runs.

But current and former employees say there are a number of examples of decision-making that run counter to that narrative when looking back on how the world’s richest person has run his corporate empire.

In the early days of Tesla Inc., the EV maker worried ...