Marko Elez, a 25-year-old employee of SpaceX and Starlink, has resigned from his role in Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge) unit. Elez's resignation follows revelations linking him to a social media account that posted openly racist and hateful content. This development comes on the heels of a court battle over access to the US government's payment system, in which Elez was a central figure.
The controversial social media account, previously known as @marko_elez and @nullllptr, was found to have disseminated racist content, including endorsements of eugenics and derogatory remarks about various ethnic groups. The account also paradoxically expressed both support for Israel and a desire for the destruction of both Israel and Gaza. The posts, which became public in July and December, sparked outrage for advocating "normalizing Indian hate" and asserting that the user would not marry outside their ethnicity.
"You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." – Marko Elez
Elez's resignation was confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt just hours after a court ruled that he, along with another Doge worker, could maintain access to the treasury department's payment system. This system stores personal and financial data of millions of US citizens, raising concerns about security and ethical considerations given the nature of the social media posts linked to Elez.
Elon Musk has been a strong advocate for the H-1B visa program, which enables companies like Tesla to employ skilled workers from abroad. However, Elez's racist views have put him at odds with key supporters of Donald Trump's "make America great again" (Maga) movement, including Steve Bannon.
"99% of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs [a type of artificial intelligence], they’re going back don’t worry guys." – Elon Musk
The scandal surrounding Elez has further complicated the dialogue on immigration and employment within high-tech industries, particularly given Musk's reliance on international talent to drive innovation at his companies. Elez's derogatory statements have ignited debates about inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
"Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool." – Marko Elez