Elon Musk stirs controversy with 'second chance' warning to federal employees | indy100

Elon Musk asks US Federal staff to justify their work

Wion - World News / VideoElephant

Elon Musk has created further chaos and confusion by giving federal workers another chance to reply to a government-wide email outlining what they did at work last week. The tech mogul, now overseeing federal initiatives, warned that those who fail to comply could face immediate termination.

In a post shared on X/Twitter on Monday (24 February), Musk wrote: "Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance.

"Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."

The tweet has been viewed over 11.5 million times with responses coming in thick and fast.

"So in other words, the first email flopped," one quipped, as another humoured: "Q. What did you do last week? / A. Failed to tell you what I did the week before."

It comes after Musk's initial post shared on 22 February, in which he stated: "Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.

"Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

The request is part of a broader initiative led by Elon Musk to reduce the size of the federal government. Federal workers, including those at the FBI, were initially given a tight 48-hour window to provide this information, which led to confusion within multiple agencies.

Getty Images

During that time, the new FBI director Kash Patel advised employees not to respond.

Patel’s message advised FBI employees to pause their responses, as the agency would follow its own review procedures and seek guidance from the Department of Justice on the next steps.

"FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information," his message read. "The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses."

Then, to make matters more confusing, Donald Trump recently told reporters that Musk's ultimatum was "genius," and warned that employees who did not respond would be "semi-fired" or "fired."

A federal worker told CNN: "Our chief said it was mandatory. Then OPM said it became voluntary. Then I guess Trump just told us it was mandatory again. No one knows who is in charge and who to listen to.”

Another employee added: "It’s bedlam."

You may also like...

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.