How close is Elon Musk to the US nuclear arsenal? The question has been raised after the tech billionaire, who has been in service to President Donald Trump for a few weeks, gained access to or insight into several sensitive government systems in his quest for cuts in the state apparatus.
Last week, 23-year-old Luke Farritor, a former SpaceX intern and now part of Musk's "efficiency authority" Doge, was granted access to the US Department of Energy (DOE), according to American media. Sources within the department call Farritor's access – which is said to have been granted without a standard background check – a bad idea.
He is not cleared to be in DOE or in our systems, warns an anonymous employee to CNN.
Under the Department of Energy lies the nuclear safety authority NNSA, which is responsible for one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals. In NNSA's systems, there is information, including technical drawings and location information, about explosive power large enough to wipe out human civilization.
"No risk"
The Department of Energy itself, which Doge has so far gained access to, only manages smaller parts of NNSA's IT and cybersecurity systems – not the systems that directly handle the country's nuclear arsenal.
But The Atlantic describes it as only a matter of time before Musk's team also gets access to NNSA. Several nuclear safety experts warn, according to the magazine, of the risks of giving access to the extremely sensitive information the authority possesses.
Others downplay the danger. The systems are so secure that Musk is miles away from the nuclear button, says an anonymous employee within the US State Department to The Verge.
I would say it's no risk. I can't understand how it would happen, says the source – but adds a caveat:
"Famous last words".
Minister denies
The systems are so outdated and analog that they are almost impossible to hack, says Alex Wellerstein, science historian and expert on nuclear technology, to the tech site. It's more likely that the president himself would give Musk access to the arsenal, he believes.
It's an absurd, obviously idiotic and self-destructive idea, but it doesn't differ much from other things that are happening right now.
Last Friday, Trump's Energy Minister Chris Wright tried to downplay Doge's insight into the Department of Energy.
I've heard rumors that they would see our secret nuclear information. None of that is true at all, said Wright to CNBC.
If he managed to calm the waters is uncertain. The fact that the US has reached a point where someone has to go out and make such a denial is alarming enough, writes The Verge.
Doge (Department of Government Efficiency) was announced in November 2024, shortly after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
Trump then stated that Doge would pave the way for "dismantling the state bureaucracy, drastically reducing unnecessary regulations, cutting wasteful spending, and restructuring federal agencies".
Doge is led by South African-born tech billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of, among others, X, SpaceX, and Tesla, and according to Forbes, the world's richest person.
Under Musk, a small group of coders and engineers, reportedly men aged 19-24, are working to implement cuts in the state budget.
The name Doge is said to refer to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency dogecoin, which in turn is named after a viral meme of a Japanese shiba inu.
Despite its name, Doge is not a formal department but is described as a "temporary organization". President Donald Trump has previously said that Doge's work should be completed by July 4, 2026, at the latest.
Source: USA Today, Wired, CBS News, The White House
