Elon Musk is well-known for conducting polls on his social media platform, X, a trend he continued by asking if a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer should be rehired. The poll, which became highly discussed, drew substantial attention and led to significant decisions being made.
Musk's poll, which concluded at approximately 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday, garnered about 385,000 votes, with a decisive 78% in favor of rehiring the former staffer. Following these results, Musk announced, "He will be brought back," emphasizing a tone of forgiveness by adding, "To err is human, to forgive divine," alongside a saluting emoji.
The former DOGE employee, identified as Marko Elez, was previously associated with SpaceX and X before his involvement with DOGE. He was linked to a now-deleted social media account that allegedly advocated for racism, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This revelation stirred public discourse about his suitability for rehiring.
The situation became more intricate as it was reported that Elez and Tom Krause, the CEO of Cloud Software Group, were trying to obtain access to sensitive data housed in the Treasury Department's payment systems. Eventually, the Treasury Department conceded to provide read-only access to the records managed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, easing concerns about data privacy.
The poll and Musk's consequent decision sparked a variety of reactions. One user on X suggested that the former staffer deserves a "second chance" but recommended a discussion about the racist behavior. Musk acknowledged this viewpoint, responding, "True."
Significantly, Vice President JD Vance also commented on the issue, supporting Elez’s return with the post, "bring him back," and mentioning, "I obviously disagree with some of Elez's posts, but I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life."
Elon Musk has a history of using X polls to determine outcomes on platform-specific and general topics. Among the most notable was a poll regarding whether he should resign as CEO of X, as well as decisions on reinstating high-profile accounts that had been banned. A famous instance was the reinstatement of Donald Trump to X following a November 2022 poll.
Recently, similar polls led to the restoration of several journalists' accounts after the community voted for a shorter suspension period than initially intended.
Despite the widespread implications of the poll results, neither Elez nor Musk provided comments to Business Insider, and the White House also remained unresponsive.
