Elon MuskExecutive Director of Teslaannounced that it will reduce the time dedicated to the federal government as Special Government Employee (SGE)although he will continue to collaborate one or two days a week during the rest of the four -year mandate of the president Donald Trump.
This commitment, however, puts Musk In a delicate position with respect to the legal framework that regulates its public participation: the annual limit of 130 days of work allowed under its status as SGE.
The figure of Special government employee It was designed in the United States to allow experts from the private sector to advise the Executive without the need to completely disconnect from their business interests.
This statute allows them to evade some of the ethical and financial dissemination restrictions that govern for public career officials. However, it includes a key limitation: these advisors cannot provide services more than 130 days in a period of 365 days.
As explained by Musk during a call with financial analysts on Tuesday, April 22, cited by Fortune, Your dedication to Government Efficiency Department (Doge) It will decrease substantially from May, since it considers that “the major work of establishing the department is already done.” He added that, however, “he will continue to dedicate one or two days a week to government issues while the president needs it.”
The calendar year has 52 weeks, and according to Musk, there are about 36 weeks left to finish the year. If you dedicate a weekly day to Doge, you will add approximately 36 additional days. If they are two days a week, they would be 72. Combined with the approximately 90 days that I would have already worked in the government so far from 2025, the total would range between 126 and 162 daysthat is, potentially 32 days above the legal maximum.
So far, Musk has not clarified how he will ensure to stay within the legal limitnor has he detailed how many days he has effectively computed as government work. The US law does not contemplate exceptions to the limit of 130 days, and exceed it could have legal consequences, such as administrative sanctions or even disqualification to exercise such position.
The White House He has not issued comments regarding how compliance with the statute by Musk is being monitored, nor has he confirmed whether official records of his service days are being taken. Nor is it clear if any federal government’s ethical control agency, such as the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), has opened a review of the case.
Musk’s participation in Doge represents an unusual situation. As founder and leader of multiple private companies – including SpaceX, Neurable, Xai, The Boring Company and the social network X-, Musk has maintained his presence in the private sector while directly advising the federal government, something unusual among the senior executives of traded companies.
In most cases, executive directors who assume government roles must disconnect from their business functions to avoid conflicts of interest and guarantee an institutional separation.
He DOGE was conceived by the Trump administration To reduce public spending, eliminate bureaucratic duplications and supervise government programs with low efficiency. Musk It has been the central figure in the design and implementation of this unit, which has limited executive powers but high public visibility.
In the words of Musk himself, his role is “to ensure that waste and fraud do not resurface”, a statement that has generated concerns in sectors that question the concentration of power and ambiguity of his mandate.
Musk’s announcement was received with relief by many investors from Tesla. The price of the company’s shares rose more than 5% in the market after closing, despite the fact that the company presented unfavorable financial results: quarterly income fell 9% to 19,000 million dollarsnet income decreased and the operational margins were reduced. However, liquidity increased to 37,000 million dollars38% more than the previous year.
The questions about the political role of Musk dominated the shareholders participation section during the quarterly conference. Among the 161 questions sent by minority shareholders, the three most voted were related to their role in government.
One of them, sent by an investor with 88,000 shares, openly questioned if “the Board of Directors has considered asking its CEO to concentrate on Tesla and leave the policy to elected officials,” he reported Fortune.
Another question from a shareholder with 365,000 shares, stated: “How does the company plan with the impact of Elon’s collaboration with the current administration?” The third, also widely supported, warned about the reputational effects of this relationship and requested more solid communication strategies to defend the Tesla brand before the public.
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