Every federal employee received the same email from Elon Musk Saturday, demanding a list of five accomplishments done in the past week. Several agencies responded by notifying their employees not to respond, setting up a conflict between Musk’s question of his legal authority and the institutional power of federal agencies. 

Elon Musk pushed this email through using the Office of Personnel Management, using their HR email system to send it to all employees. He has commented on several responses publicly on his Twitter (now X) account, stating that he would promote them (which he does not have the authority to do). 

He also stated in the same post he announced the message that not responding would result in it being taken as a resignation, furthering his agenda to cut the federal workforce by any means necessary. Musk, again, does not have the authority to cut federal workers, it is traditionally up to either department heads or the President himself to dictate that. 

The email has brought out more tension to the conflict between Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the federal workforce, as employees have begun to fear Musk’s cuts will affect their jobs and workplaces. Already, the National Parks Service has been cut, with many rangers being laid off, and intermittent closure coming to parks. Employees fear the same, and fear that responding will result in firing for perceived inefficiency or public humiliation. 

This conflict has garnered attention toward what Musk, an independent businessman, has to do with the government, and how he gets authority. Currently, he is designated as a “special government employee”. This title only has two restrictions: he may not act upon matters pertaining to his or his family’s business (which he has done already) and his term is not to exceed 130 days. His violation of the former has happened several times, from a 400 million dollar contract with the State Department to make armored Teslas, to firing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees investigating Tesla, to the closing of USAID, which had been investigating Starlink’s implementation in Ukraine. 

This email is only another step in Elon Musk’s mission to cut and slash through the government budget, pledging to cut wasteful spending and implement his Silicon Valley disruption to the public sector.