Trump administration ends program initiated by billionaire Elon Musk

The “5 Things Email” program initiated by billionaire Elon Musk, which requires US federal employees to summarize five work achievements during the week, will officially end.

Billionaire Elon Musk at the White House in May – Photo: AFP

The “5-point email” program proposed by billionaire Elon Musk in February aims to increase accountability but has caused tension with US department leaders.

Many government employees also expressed confusion after receiving conflicting information about whether and how they would be covered by the program.

According to Reuters, on August 5, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – the federal agency that implemented the layoff plan proposed by billionaire Elon Musk – officially announced the end of the “5-point email” program and instructions requiring employees to comply with this initiative.

“At OPM, we believe it is the responsibility of managers to stay informed about what their team members are doing, and there are many other tools available to do that,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement.

The White House has not responded to a request for comment on the decision.

Although many agencies had quietly stopped implementing this program before, this move shows that the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to close one of billionaire Elon Musk’s most controversial initiatives, after the relationship between the two broke down in early June.

Billionaire Elon Musk was once a close ally of Mr. Trump and spent more than $250 million to help him win the presidential election in November 2024.

Mr Musk then led efforts by the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal budgets and staffing, until he left the Trump administration in May to focus again on his tech empire.

President Trump initially gave Mr Musk a warm farewell, but then became angry when the tech billionaire sharply criticized his tax-cut and spending bill.

Mr Trump then withdrew his nomination of tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman – a close ally of Mr Musk – to lead NASA, and threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Mr Musk’s companies.

In March, Reuters reported that the White House had appointed two Trump loyalists to OPM to ensure more effective policy coordination with the agency.

Scott Kupor, a venture capitalist who was appointed to run OPM in July, had previously hinted at ending the “5-point email” program, calling it too manual and inefficient.