Musk-led US efficiency team seeks payment of millions for work

ANKARA

The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, a controversial team tasked with cutting US government spending led by billionaire Elon Musk, is seeking to charge the Office of Personnel Management millions of dollars for its services, despite being tasked with making the federal government more efficient, said US media.

According to a draft agreement, the executive office of the president has asked OPM to fund 20 full-time positions within the Musk team from this Jan. 20 to July 4, 2026, CNN reported Monday.

The total cost could exceed $4 million, it said.

The document states that the team’s work would focus on modernizing OPM’s IT systems, as the agency has an "immediate and critical need for rapid and thorough IT modernization of the sort that the agency is not equipped to handle on its own."

Under the deal, OPM is required to provide the team with access to its data and systems, along with operational and technical support, a potentially controversial move.

While Musk and DOGE argue that their work is saving taxpayers money, critics claim the department is firing workers indiscriminately and gaining access to sensitive government data without proper authorization.

It is unclear whether Musk’s team has approached other agencies with similar funding demands.

The agreement requires monthly advance payments. It unknown whether any payments have been made so far.

White House lawyers have tried to distance the Tesla billionaire from an official leadership role, stating that he is an adviser to President Donald Trump and not the team’s administrator, but he is its public face, embraced by Trump, and Musk himself has called work by the team “our actions.”

As an unofficial group, the team operates outside federal public records laws by being housed within the Office of Management and Budget.

Musk, who holds the title of "special government employee," has described himself as a volunteer.

The draft agreement specifies that the 20 full-time positions would be funded at the highest of 15 federal pay grades, with salaries starting at $141,817 annually, and rising to $189,950 in Washington.

Over 17-and-a-half months, the total cost would amount to approximately $4.1 million.