"Forgiveness is divine" Musk brings 25-year-old back into office after racism scandal
One of Elon Musk's cost-cutting appointees at the US Treasury Department has resigned over racist posts - but the tech billionaire and Vice President J.D. Vance are quick to bring him back.
08.02.2025, 08:42
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Marko Elez first had to take his hat off at the "efficiency ministry" DOGE.
- The 25-year-old, who used to work at SpaceX, stumbled across old posts: "I was racist before it was cool."
- Elon Musk has called the journalist who uncovered this a "disgusting and cruel person" on X.
- "Forgiveness is divine": Elon Musk put it to a vote on X whether Elez should be recalled.
- After the intervention of Musk and Vice President JD Vance, Elez is back on board at DOGE. Donald Trump says he knows nothing.
A cost-cutter at the US Treasury Department lost his job because of racist online posts - now Elon Musk is bringing him back. Musk received support from Vice President J.D. Vance, who wrote that "stupid social media activity shouldn't ruin a boy's life".
The 25-year-old representative of Musk's cost-cutting board Doge was linked to a now-deleted account on Twitter and the successor platform X, which read, among other things, "I was racist before it was cool."
The author also wrote that he would not marry outside his ethnic group even for money. On the Middle East conflict, he said he would have no problem if Gaza and Israel both disappeared from the face of the earth.
Musk attacks journalist who pointed out scandalous posts
The posts were linked to the Doge representative by the Wall Street Journal. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt then responded to a query from the newspaper about the account by saying that the 25-year-old had resigned. He had previously worked for Musk's space company SpaceX, among others.
The 25-year-old was one of only two Doge representatives who were granted temporary access to the US Treasury Department's central transfer system in a court ruling. They are Marko Elez, a "Special Advisor to the Director" Elon Musk.
Musk launched a campaign on Friday to bring the employee back. He called the journalist from the "Wall Street Journal", who published the report, a "disgusting and cruel person" at X.
Musk: "Forgiveness is divine"
He also had X users vote in a poll on whether the 25-year-old should get his job back. 78 percent of the 385,000 participating users were in favor. After supporting Vance, Musk wrote on X: "He will be brought back." To err is human and to forgive is divine.
After Vance's intervention, presenters from the news channel CNN emphasized that his wife Usha Vance has Indian roots. In view of the large number of Indian employees in Silicon Valley, the account also called for hatred of Indians to be normalized.
Trump shows himself ignorant
US President Donald Trump was also asked about the situation at a press conference. He said he did not know about it - but if Vance was of the opinion, "I stand behind the Vice President".
Trump had tasked tech billionaire Musk with reducing government spending. A committee called Doge (Department of Government Efficiency) was formed for this purpose, which is connected to the White House.
According to the New York Times, Doge has around 40 employees so far. According to media reports, many were recruited from Musk's companies.
In addition to SpaceX, he also runs the electric car manufacturer Tesla, among others. According to the White House, Musk himself is supposed to ensure that there are no conflicts with his business interests.
