Elon Musk announced Friday that he will reinstate Marko Elez, a 25-year-old member of his self-styled “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge) unit, who resigned after being linked to a racist social media account.
Confirming Elez’s return, Musk, owner of the social media platform X, posted, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” The decision was made after conducting a public poll on X that saw 78% of the 385,247 respondents voting in favor of Elez’s reinstatement.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Elez was identified as the owner of the now-deleted X account @nullllptr, which had posted racist and eugenics-related content. Some of the posts included: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” and, “Normalize Indian hate.” Another post mocked the prevalence of Indian professionals in Silicon Valley.
His reinstatement was supported by Vice President JD Vance, who defended Elez, calling him “a kid” whose life was being “destroyed” by the media. “I obviously disagree with some of his posts, but stupid social media activity shouldn’t ruin a kid’s life,” Vance wrote. When asked about the situation, President Trump stated he backed Vance’s stance.
Hours after a court ruled that he and another Doge employee could retain access to the US Treasury Department’s payment system but were restricted from sharing or modifying sensitive information, Elez had resigned.
The Doge unit, led by Musk, has disrupted federal agencies since Trump’s return to office, including the closure of USAID. Musk’s initiative aims to eliminate what he views as government waste and inefficiency. Despite the controversy surrounding Elez, Musk’s decision underscores his willingness to prioritize loyalty over public backlash.
