Elon Musk issued another controversial ultimatum to federal workers Saturday afternoon, instructing them to report their work accomplishments via email or resign.
Musk, the billionaire advisor to President Trump and unofficial leader of the Trump administration-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), first posted a message about the email on X, formerly Twitter, at 2:46 p.m. ET Saturday.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” said the post. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” The email, reviewed by USA TODAY, was sent to the worker with the subject line “What did you do last week?” Issued late Saturday afternoon, it demands employees “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”
“Please do not send any classified information, links or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pmEST,” the email continued. It appeared to refer to the week starting Feb. 16, which was a four-day work week because of Presidents Day, a federal holiday. The email went out to employees at agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others, reported Reuters.
Contrary to Musk’s X post, the email did not mention termination or disciplinary action for employees failing to respond promptly. It is unclear what, if any, legal basis Musk would have for carrying out the threatened firings.