Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have already started recruiting for President-elect Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency on X — but jobseekers apparently need to cough up a subscription to the social media platform to apply.
Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy earlier this week to head up the newly created department — already dubbed DOGE — to find ways to slash federal spending and create a more efficient government.
The group, which Trump stressed will operate “outside” the government in an advisory manner, got to work Thursday soliciting applications via X — with the top candidates to be vetted personally by Musk and Ramaswamy.
“We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE,” the department said in a post on X.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
Still, only X premium subscribers are currently able to send messages the DOGE account.
A premium subscription to Musk’s social media platform currently sets a user back between $8 to $16 a month in the US.
Some users were quick to point out that DOGE’s DMs weren’t open — meaning an X subscription was seemingly a job requirement for the cost-cutting entity.
“Your first job in making things more efficient is to actually open up your DMs,” one user griped.
“You have to have premium to DM, we’re living in bidenomics and subscription services are a luxury. Willing to work 80 hours a week to have a savings account again though,” another said.
One user added, “To DM DOGE on X, you need to be verified. To be verified, you need to pay a subscription. Ultimately, Elon wins both ends.”
The job-calling post had already been viewed nearly 15 million times by Friday.
Trump said the department would work in tandem with the White House and Office of Management & Budget “to drive large scale [sic] structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”
The Tesla billionaire, who has previously said the federal budget could be cut by “at least” $2 trillion, has already called for tips from Americans as he insisted DOGE will strive for “transparency.”
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency,” Musk wrote on X.
“We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.”