Elon Musk’s cost-cutting crusade within the U.S. government has purportedly identified computers that can print unlimited amounts of cash, the billionaire claimed in a podcast published on Monday.
“I call a ‘magic money computer’ any computer which can just make money out of thin air,” Musk told Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during the “Verdict” podcast sit-down. “They just send money out of nothing.”
The computers identified by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, exist at multiple agencies, Musk added, pointing to the U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Department of Defense.
Musk claimed his team has found 14 computers with blank-check authority at the federal government, and suggested that they routinely send trillions of dollars to keep Washington up and running.
While Musk’s fixation on government spending has been brewing for months, his latest comments on the government’s payment powers alarmed Bitcoin fans who have long viewed it as a hedge against currency degradation.
In 2013, the term “magic internet money” became popularized within Bitcoin’s community after a Reddit user created a viral ad using the slogan. The meme’s crudely illustrated mascot has since become the central focus of Taproot Wizards’ line of Bitcoin-based collectibles.
Bitcoin’s portrayal as a store of value has often been linked to money-printing. Generally, Bitcoiners believe a government can create as much cash as it wants, while Bitcoin’s supply will never exceed 21 million BTC due to the way that its software was coded.
The sentiment has been echoed by influential figures on Wall Street, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. In January, he said Bitcoin appeals to investors fearful of their local currency being debased through government spending, describing Bitcoin as “a currency of fear.”
Musk’s attempts to slash costs have contributed to recession fears, as market participants weigh how federal jobs cuts could affect economic growth and consumer spending. However, the accuracy of DOGE’s purported spending cuts has faced scrutiny.
As news publications have identified errors in DOGE’s savings claims, the cost-cutting team has progressively made data posted to the DOGE website—where Dogecoin’s logo was recently added and then swiftly removed—harder to decipher, according to The New York Times.
Musk has said DOGE will “act quickly to correct any mistakes,” but recent savings claims have been made with less data for identifying which contracts have purportedly been cut.
Musk took issue with the government’s spending procedures in the podcast published on Monday, but he acknowledged the magic machines are “not totally wrong” in terms of how much money is being spent compared to what’s reported. In terms of the amount they spend, they’re “probably off” by up to 10% in some cases, he claimed.
Edited by James Rubin
