Summary
Elon Musk falsely claimed an $8 billion saving on a canceled contract that was actually worth only $8 million, significantly inflating its reported $55 billion in total savings.
The error, first identified by The New York Times, was based on an incorrect figure in federal procurement records.
Additionally, DOGE’s accounting has been questioned due to inconsistencies in its reported savings, including counting already-paid portions of contracts and taking credit for office closures when Joe Biden was still president.
DOGE has not publicly addressed the mistake.
I saw him claim a $8.2M contract savings. Looked it up, was only a $1.6M. They are routinely inflating numbers because they have no idea how to read the data that’s in front of them.
Contract was 12FPC222F0160. They just took the full awarded amount and ran with that, not seeing or not caring that it was opened in 2022 and had paid out 80% it’s outlay already.
These people have no idea what they’re doing and they routinely display that lack of knowledge. There is no value of what Musk is posting that can possibly be treated as credible. This is likely why they keep not posting the full contract listing they cancel everyday. They have no idea how to read these things. They’re just picking the largest number on the screen.
To add: If you cancel a contract that was 80% finished then that is not a saving. It means you likely wasted 80%.
It really feels like penny wise, pound foolish. Only focusing on what’s paid out and thought about the benefit.
Though the simplistic approach is likely intentional.
Also doesn’t the Government have to pay a settlement if they terminate a contract for convenience?
We are just going to end up paying out a lot of money for nothing.