'Working the Weekend Is a Superpower': Elon Musk Says DOGE Is Working '120 Hour' Weeks While 'Bureaucratic Opponents' Work 40 Musk is bringing his Silicon Valley work ethic to Washington, D.C.

By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut

Key Takeaways

  • Elon Musk has wasted no time creating a startup-like atmosphere at his Department of Government Efficiency.
  • Musk wrote in a Sunday post on X that DOGE is putting in 120-hour workweeks.
  • The typical U.S. employee works an average of 34.3 hours per week.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) became a temporary government organization on January 20 through President Donald Trump's executive order. In just two weeks, Musk has led the department to adopt a Silicon Valley-like startup mentality towards its work hours, with Musk recently bragging that DOGE is putting in extra-long hours as it tries to cut back on government bureaucracy.

In a Sunday post on X, Musk wrote that "DOGE is working 120 hour[s] a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing so fast."

Related: Elon Musk Warns Tesla Workers They'll Be Sleeping on the Production Line to Build Its New Mass-Market EV

The day prior, Musk wrote on X that "Very few in the bureaucracy actually work the weekend, so it's like the opposing team just leaves the field for 2 days! Working the weekend is a superpower."

A 120-hour workweek means 17 hours and eight minutes of work every day, including Saturday and Sunday. According to data for December from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical U.S. employee works an average of 34.3 hours per week.

DOGE isn't the first organization where Musk has implemented workweeks longer than average. When Musk took control of Twitter in October 2022, he told staff that they should expect to work 80 hours per week and receive fewer perks like free food. Less than half of Twitter's 4,000 employees chose to stay, with the majority opting for three months' severance instead.

It isn't just Twitter. Workers at Tesla, where Elon Musk is CEO, have reported sleeping on the floor after 12-hour shifts after working six or seven days per week.

Musk elaborated on how he put in the hours on an April episode of the podcast, In Good Company, hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of $1.6 trillion Norges Bank.

"I've done many, many stretches of 100-hour weeks, where roughly six hours per day is sleeping," Musk said. "I would not recommend that. That's for emergencies."

Musk said that he put in those 100-hour weeks during the early days of his startups when he would sleep under his desk and work "every waking hour." He defined those days as stretches of ultra-hard work and said he could sustain the sprint for a few years at a time.

Related: Elon Musk Has Resorted to Sleeping at Tesla's Factory to Try to Get it Back on Track

Roi Ginat, CEO of Endless AI, told Business Insider that while he routinely works 85 hours a week, working a team "too hard for too long" is a recipe for "fatigue and burnout."

"I believe that Elon's tweet is about an effort, not a new standard at DOGE," Ginat stated.

DOGE is not a government agency but a group created to work alongside the White House to bring down costs. Musk is aiming to cut at least $1 trillion from the federal budget through DOGE. It's unclear how many people are working alongside him, but a December announcement from Trump shows that Katie Miller, the former deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, is part of the DOGE team.

Sherin Shibu

Entrepreneur Staff

News Reporter

Sherin Shibu is a business news reporter at Entrepreneur.com. She previously worked for PCMag, Business Insider, The Messenger, and ZDNET as a reporter and copyeditor. Her areas of coverage encompass tech, business, strategy, finance, and even space. She is a Columbia University graduate.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Growing a Business

7 Things Every Growing Business Needs to Monitor to Scale Successfully

Discover the key factors every growing business must monitor to ensure successful scaling. From financial health to customer experience, these seven critical areas can help sustain growth and streamline operations.

Leadership

'A Light Bulb Went Off' When Erin Andrews Saw a Glaring Gap in the Sports Market. Now, Taylor Swift Wears Her Clothing Line.

WEAR by Erin Andrews co-founders Erin Andrews and Constance Schwartz-Morini explain how they stitched together a dynamic apparel business.

Leadership

How Your Communication Style is Sabotaging Your Leadership — And 4 Ways to Fix It

Great leadership hinges on clear communication — listening actively, using a supportive tone and aligning body language to build trust and engagement.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Amazon Intends to Spend Over $100 Billion on AI This Year. Here's How It Compares to Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

Amazon's forecasted spending in 2025 is 35% higher than 2024 and well above the $86 billion analysts expected.

Leadership

How to Align Your Team Through Every Growth Phase and Reach True Success

Entrepreneurship demands adaptability, with success hinging on understanding and evolving your business's center of gravity through each phase of growth.