Responding to Bill Gates, Tesla CEO demands evidence for the allegation that aid cuts are causing deaths, sparking a heated debate about the effectiveness of the US government.

According to Business Insider , Elon Musk responded to Bill Gates when asked about the Microsoft co-founder’s criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In response to Gates’ statement on CNN and many other newspapers in early May that DOGE’s budget cuts to the US Agency for International Development would lead to “millions of deaths,” the Tesla CEO asked the tech billionaire to provide evidence.

“I want him to show us the evidence that this is true. In fact, it’s misleading people,” Elon Musk told Bloomberg author Mishal Husain via webcam, at the Qatar Economic Forum event on May 20.

Under the South African-born billionaire’s stewardship, DOGE has taken a number of drastic measures to make the government more efficient, including cutting more than 80 percent of USAID programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The agency has effectively “put USAID through the wood chipper,” as the Tesla CEO wrote in a February 2 X post.

Musk told Husain that many of the “somewhat useful” USAID staff had been retained and moved to the State Department. On January 28, Secretary of State Rubio announced that the US would issue waivers allowing humanitarian assistance program personnel to continue their work.

Musk has previously called USAID a “criminal organization.” On May 20, the Tesla CEO said the organization could not provide evidence of the children it was helping. “Where have they been? If people who need help are in trouble, we want to talk to them and talk to their caregivers,” Musk said.

After the above sharing, neither Elon Musk nor Gates’ representative responded to Business Insider ‘s request for comment .

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has pledged to donate his more than $100 billion fortune and the Gates Foundation’s resources to support global health over the next 20 years. He told CNN that DOGE’s bold approach to cutting government spending is “a mistake.”

USAID has delivered nearly $32.5 billion in aid through 2024, including more than $2.3 billion to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis worldwide. The agency has also spent about $290 million on vaccine dissemination and immunization.

According to the United Nations, the United States funds 70 percent of the global response to HIV/AIDS, saving more than 26 million lives since the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was established in 2003.