• Elon Musk stumped for a conservative judge running for a state Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin.
• He kicked off a town hall on Sunday by giving two people $1 million checks.
• He said it’s “costing me a lot” to lead DOGE as Tesla’s stock slides.

Handing out million-dollar checks, answering questions about sending federal savings to taxpayers, and musing on the future of the US government — it’s all in a day’s work for America’s richest man.

Elon Musk spoke for roughly 100 minutes on Sunday at a town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he was campaigning for Brad Schimel, a conservative judge running in the state’s upcoming Supreme Court election.

The session evolved into a freewheeling discussion on Musk’s thoughts about the future of the US and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as he fielded questions from supporters and bashed Democratic leaders.

Musk said little about concrete plans for DOGE but gave attendees a glimpse at what he thinks should be cut.

Here are the top five takeaways from Musk’s town hall.

Musk gave two attendees $1 million for their support

Musk said the checks would be given to “spokespersons” at the event, amid concerns that his $1 million lottery would violate Wisconsin state law.ROBIN LEGRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Musk, who started the event wearing a cheesehead hat, kicked off the talk by handing giant $1 million checks to two supporters.

Musk had originally offered Wisconsin voters $100 each to sign a petition opposing “activist judges,” and they’d be entered to win a $1 million lottery prize.

But amid concerns the giveaway would violate state law, Musk later said the payment would be compensation for the winners to be spokespeople at the event.

Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, tried to block the $1 million lottery, but the state’s Supreme Court declined on Sunday to hear his case.

Musk’s high-profile campaign stop underscores the importance of the judicial election, set for April 1, for Republicans.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has a 4-3 liberal majority, and one of its left-leaning judges, Ann Walsh Bradley, is set to retire — paving the way for a realignment of the state’s ideological future. The vote is also being hyped as a litmus test for sentiment on the Trump administration’s actions in the last few months.

Musk said at the town hall that the election would determine issues like Wisconsin’s voter ID requirements in the 2026 House elections. He said this would, in turn, help determine who gains control of Congress and “steer the course of Western civilization.”

“I feel like this is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will,” he said of the April 1 vote.

The Fed versus a Magic 8 Ball

Musk said a Magic 8 Ball could do a better job of setting interest rates than the Federal Reserve.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Musk answered questions from audience members and offered some hints about DOGE’s possible future targets.

“I think there’s like 20,000 people working at the Fed? It seems pretty high,” he said. The Federal Reserve said it budgeted payroll for 24,553 employees in 2024.

Musk questioned the roles of those employees.

“What do they do? And, you know, sometimes I wonder which one would win for federal interest rates. The Board of the Federal Reserve or a Magic 8 Ball?” he said.

“I think the Magic 8 ball might win, you know, so then I’m like, Magic 8 ball is a lot cheaper,” he added. That comparison was the subject of a poll he posted on X in November, in which X users voted overwhelmingly for the Magic 8 Ball.

The billionaire also took aim at the education system, saying the US had too few teachers and too many administrators. According to federal data from May 2023, there were 302,000 administrators and 3.8 million teachers working in US kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools.

Antonio Gracias, a private equity executive involved with DOGE, took to the stage to deliver a presentation on what he characterized as widespread Social Security fraud. Social Security administrators have said claims of fraud by Musk and others have been wildly exaggerated.

One supporter, who said he worked for the US Postal Service, asked Musk if DOGE was considering cuts to the postal system.

The billionaire didn’t appear to have much of a plan to share — he asked the postal worker for ideas — but raised concerns about pricing for industries that rely on large-volume local shipping.

“Some companies are not being charged the right amount for package delivery, and there’s probably more administrative overhead than there should be, would be some safe guesses, I’d bet,” Musk said.

He likes the government structure of 1776

Musk said that if it were his decision, he would reduce the federal government to just a few branches to resemble George Washington’s Cabinet.Sina Salehian/Getty Images

Musk said his ideal version of federal government leadership would include only the president, attorney general, secretary of state, secretary of defense or war, and the secretary of the treasury — much like George Washington’s Cabinet in 1776.

“If it were entirely up to me, I’d be like: ‘Let’s make it like that again,'” Musk said to applause from the audience.

The hit to Tesla: ‘It’s costing me a lot to be in this job’

A protester at the Tesla Takedown demonstration in Detroit.Nic Antaya for Business Insider

Musk acknowledged the slump in his net worth, much of which has come from Tesla’s stock price slipping from highs of nearly $480 in December to about $263 at market close on Friday. Tesla was down almost 6% in premarket trading on Monday.

Musk has lost about $103 billion since the start of 2025, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He’s still $116 billion ahead of Jeff Bezos, who’s listed as the world’s second-richest man.

Musk said he’s aware that his time spent with DOGE could be to blame.

“In fact, it’s costing me a lot to be in this job,” he said.

“You know, my Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla stock went roughly in half,” he said, adding that his role in DOGE was a “very expensive job.”

Musk said he’s not qualified to return DOGE’s savings to taxpayers

Musk said it would be up to the president or Congress to determine if money from DOGE savings would go back to Americans.Win McNamee/Getty Images

One young supporter asked Musk whether taxpayers could receive checks if DOGE is successful in whittling down federal spending.

His answer: It’s up to Congress or President Donald Trump.

“Well, I guess we would need to be successful at scale,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s still a tremendous amount of work we need to do.”

Musk said his work at DOGE would benefit American taxpayers in other ways, including by reducing inflation and boosting the economy.

“One way or another, you will effectively be better off,” he said.

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