The Department of Government Efficiency — known as DOGE — officially shut down on July 4. That was the sunset date baked into Trump’s January 2025 executive order. The program barely made it.
DOGE collapsed as a centralized body back in November, months ahead of schedule. Its public savings tracker went dark after January 1. The commission claimed $215 billion in savings, about $1,335 per taxpayer. That’s roughly 3% of a single year’s $7 trillion federal budget — a fraction of the $2 trillion Musk promised in 2024.
No closing report is coming, either. OMB Director Russ Vought told lawmakers this week none is planned.
Musk left Washington in May 2025 after 130 days as a special government employee. He always framed the ending as intentional. On July 4, he posted a patriotic montage. No DOGE farewell. No statement.
Michael Saylor replied directly to Musk with one line: “We can still make something Ƀetter.” The Ƀ was the Bitcoin sign.
Traders read the exchange as a handoff — from government reform to sound money. Some replies urged Tesla to resume Bitcoin payments. BTC trades near $62,584, up about 1% in 24 hours.
Saylor has run this play before. In December 2020, he pushed Musk to put Bitcoin on Tesla’s balance sheet. Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth two months later, then suspended BTC payments in May 2021 over energy concerns.
The timing carries some irony. Strategy faces questions over a reported 491 BTC sale and a dividend policy JPMorgan called risky. Saylor has been pitting MSTR against the Magnificent 7.
Neither Musk nor Saylor mentioned DOGE by name. The question now: does innovation and Bitcoin really replace the reform push? Or was the Ƀetter reply just a holiday flourish?
