Musk ally ‘pushes AI-first strategy,’ as federal jobs faces potential cuts under Trump’s DOGE

An ally of Elon Musk and the newly appointed director of Technology Transformation Services has reportedly informed General Services Administration (GSA) employees that the agency’s new administrator is focusing on an “AI-first strategy.”

Musk, who runs a slew of tech companies like SpaceX, Tesla, X, and xAI, has been given the job of cutting federal spending in a big way through something called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by the Trump administration. In just the first two weeks, the group has shaken up federal agencies, pushing for major cost cuts and even encouraging workers to resign to trim expenses. A US senator claimed that DOGE’s access to government systems was even a “national security risk.”

Today’s number has increased to 22 consulting contract terminations for a total savings of ~$45mm.

All in today, 36 contracts were terminated for a total savings of ~$165mm across 6 agencies, including a DHS contract for “people and culture survey and climate support services.” https://t.co/ixiZxD302M

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 4, 2025

In one such meeting, WIRED reported that Thomas Shedd laid out his vision for the GSA, imagining it running more like a “startup software company.” He plans to reportedly automate internal tasks and bring together data from across the entire federal government to make things more efficient.

One person said they were roped into a meeting with Thomas Shedd, the new TTS director and former Tesla engineer, + his two "advisors." They appeared to be college students with, one worked at Neuralink after high school.https://t.co/Y4E6dCc5tD pic.twitter.com/yVT8h2xhUA

— Makena Kelly (@kellymakena) January 31, 2025

According to people familiar with the discussion, the former Tesla engineer shared his goal of creating a central database for all government contracts. His idea is to use AI to analyze them for redundancies and find ways to cut costs. He also pointed out that the acting GSA administrator, Stephen Ehikian, a Trump appointee and former Salesforce executive, is already working on an AI strategy document.

Shedd added that AI wouldn’t just be about saving money, but that it could also help detect fraud and waste across the government. The tech news outlet reported that Shedd mentioned “AI coding agents” would be rolled out for all government agencies. He made it clear that he sees a lot of the work at TTS and across the government, especially in finance, being automated in the near future.

Aside from this, a GSA employee told Mother Jones that Shedd, along with two guys who seem to be recent college grads with unclear roles, has been conducting “code reviews”—kind of like what Musk did when he took over Twitter. When asked about it, a GSA spokesperson didn’t deny it, saying these reviews are “customary” and “routine in the software world” whenever there’s a leadership change.

According to the employee, none of the people involved have been identified during these code meetings as being part of the DOGE. Reports say that some of the new senior hires at the Office of Personnel Management include a 21-year-old former Palantir employee and someone who just graduated high school in 2024. The latter staff member’s résumé is said to include experience as a camp counselor, a bicycle mechanic, and a summer gig at Neuralink, Musk’s neurotech company.

At one point, Shedd hinted that layoffs could be coming for TTS but didn’t go into details. Toward the end of the call, a TTS employee asked if they’d be expected to work more than 40 hours a week, especially with all the changes and possible job cuts. Shedd reportedly said that it was “unclear.”

ReadWrite has reached out to the GSA for comment.

Featured image: Canva / Grok

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