Elon Musk recently launched a crackdown on the federal workforce, sending mass emails demanding that employees justify their jobs (Getty Images)
Musk added his own commentary above it. “Why 90% of America loves @DOGE 😂” he wrote.
Of course, DOGE isn’t just a meme coin anymore. It now stands for the US Department of Government Efficiency—a newly established division created by President Donald Trump and headed by Musk himself.
Elon Musk’s ‘parasite class’ post and the backlash that followed
It didn’t take long for Elon Musk’s post to go viral across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. Media outlets like The Daily Beast and The Atlantic Black Star quickly picked up the story.
Even the popular podcast ‘On With Kara Swisher’ weighed in, with host Kara Swisher calling Musk a parasite himself and pointing out that Tesla had already received nearly $5 billion in government support by 2015.
According to the fact-checker, Musk did repost the meme on February 12 at 10.35 pm ET, complete with a laughing emoji. The meme itself was originally created by the account, but Musk’s version removed its watermark and slapped on the DOGE logo instead.
Critics on social media were angry and responded to the post.
“A money-hungry, elitist billionaire just single-handedly created a new class for hardworking Americans. The ‘Parasite Class.’ This ideology is demonic,” one posted on X.
“He’s calling people who receive any kind of federal assistance “parasites” while profiting heavily from every single government benefit he can get. The only parasite I see is Elon Musk. I’m so tired and disgusted,” another fumed.
“Parasite class. Veterans, military officers, air traffic controllers, food safety inspectors, medical researchers, park rangers, nuclear safety experts, humanitarian aid workers… You’re all the ‘parasite class’ according to our unelected foreign billionaire overlord,” someone else chimed in.
“Imagine calling those on federal assistance the ‘parasite class’ and believing you’d just likened them to insignificant and powerless, yet you’d actually called us a deadly apex predator that can kill you silently with the bite of an insect, all 100 million outnumbering you,” read a comment.
“Just a reminder that you are much closer to the ‘Parasite Class’ than you will ever be to whatever Elon Musk is. This man does not and has not cared about anyone but himself,” another complained.
Elon Musk’s crackdown on federal workers
Elon Musk recently launched a sweeping crackdown on the federal workforce, sending mass emails demanding that employees justify their jobs—or risk being fired.
The emails, which started hitting inboxes on Saturday afternoon, February 22, instructed federal workers to explain what they accomplished in the past week.
Several national security agencies including the FBI and multiple federal departments advised staffers not to respond immediately, suggesting that the executive branch itself was blindsided by Musk’s move.
