Elon Musk Turns His DOGE Goons Loose on Air Traffic Control

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

“First Buddy” Elon Musk announced in a Wednesday tweet that he will now turn his Department of Government Efficiency minions loose on the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control system to make “rapid safety upgrades.”

On his X platform, Musk shared, “Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!”

Musk retweeted a post from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in which he announced he had “big news” after speaking with the DOGE team—which reports revealed to be almost entirely made up of men under the age of 26. One is the 19-year-old heir to a popcorn fortune.

“They are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system,” tweeted Duffy.

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The news comes a week after a mid-air crash between a commercial flight and a military Black Hawk left 67 dead in Washington D.C.—inciting fears over the how America’s airspace will be managed under Duffy, as well as military operations under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Another crash occurred on the tarmac of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday when a Japan Airlines jet collided with a parked Delta Air Lines plane, officials said. There were no injuries reported as a result of the incident, though social media photos showed that the wing of the Japan Airlines plane cut through the Delta jet’s tail.

President Donald Trump first suggested on Tuesday that the “very smart people” of DOGE should be “in the control towers where we were putting people that were actually intellectually deficient.”

While some initially took the remark as a joke, it appears DOGE is making it a reality.

However, Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, seemed unconvinced that DOGE could offer little more than adolescent chaos from her tweets.

“They have no relevant experience. Most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car,” Clinton said.