Elon Musk has once again made headlines with a controversial move, this time targeting the U.S. federal workforce. The billionaire CEO announced via his social media platform, X, that DOGE, his administration management initiative, had sent an email to all federal employees requiring them to respond within 48 hours. Those who failed to reply would be considered to have resigned. However, major government agencies, including NASA, the Pentagon, and the FBI, have refused to comply.

Musk’s Email and Dismissal Strategy

According to a report by Fortune, the subject line of the email sent to over 2.3 million federal employees simply asked, “What did you do last week?” Inside, DOGE instructed recipients to provide details of their work over the past week. Any employee who did not respond within the given timeframe would be considered inactive and effectively terminated.

This approach is not new for Musk. In 2022, after acquiring Twitter (now X), he sent a similar ultimatum to employees, urging them to commit to a new “hardcore” work culture or resign. This move resulted in an 80% reduction of Twitter’s workforce, though it also led to operational challenges and later rehiring efforts.

NASA Urges Caution and Silence

At least three major federal agencies have openly rejected Musk’s directive. NASA was the first to react, issuing an internal memo advising its 17,000 employees not to respond until a formal guideline was established to ensure compliance with federal regulations.

Managers at the space agency warned employees to “pause any responses to the email to avoid disclosing confidential or decision-sensitive information to unknown recipients.” They also clarified that employees on leave or vacation were not obligated to check or respond to work emails during their time off.

FBI and Pentagon Reject the Directive

The FBI and the Pentagon took an even stronger stance. Kash Patel, the newly appointed director of the FBI, confirmed to the Associated Press that the agency would not comply with DOGE’s request and emphasized that any review of employees’ activities would be handled internally.

“The FBI, through the Office of the Director, oversees all internal review processes and will conduct them according to our own procedures,” Patel stated. “For now, please refrain from responding.”

Similarly, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security instructed all employees to ignore Musk’s email. In a statement, Tibor Nagy, acting Under Secretary of State, reminded government staff that “No employee is required to report their activities outside their department’s chain of command.” Officials cited security risks as the primary reason for disregarding the directive.

The Cost of Musk’s “Dragnet” Tactic

Musk’s mass email approach is expected to have significant financial and operational consequences. Fortune estimates that the time spent responding to these emails would amount to a loss of approximately 166,500 working hours across federal employees.

Given that the average salary for U.S. federal employees is around $106,000 per year, this effort could cost taxpayers an estimated $8.5 million in wasted labor.

A Showdown Between Musk and the Federal Government

Musk’s attempt to impose sweeping workforce measures on the federal government has been met with defiance from top agencies, signaling that his aggressive corporate tactics may not translate well to public administration. With NASA, the Pentagon, and the FBI united in their refusal to comply, the billionaire may face an uphill battle in enforcing his vision of workplace accountability within the government.

As tensions between Musk and federal institutions continue to rise, it remains to be seen whether further action will be taken against DOGE’s initiative—or if the administration will respond with legal challenges of its own.

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