For over two decades, Steve Davis has been one of Elon Musk's closest and most trusted allies, known for his relentless cost-cutting approach. Now, he’s applying the same "tear it down and rebuild" philosophy at DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency)—the controversial agency spearheading Musk’s and Trump’s mission to slash federal spending.

From Slashing Costs at Twitter to Overhauling the U.S. Government

When Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he put Davis in charge of cutting costs across the company, down to the price of janitorial services at a data center in Atlanta. Davis became infamous for firing top executives, forcing brutal renegotiations with vendors, and creating a climate of uncertainty among employees.

Now, as the key figure behind DOGE, Davis is overseeing one of the most aggressive government downsizing efforts in U.S. history—an initiative that has sent shockwaves through Washington.

The hardline tactics of DOGE have already been put on display through the Trump administration’s push to dismantle USAID, the government agency responsible for distributing foreign aid. USAID, with 10,000 employees and a $40 billion budget, has been a major target for elimination under Trump and Musk’s cost-cutting campaign.

According to sources inside USAID, Davis and Musk have been personally involved in driving this effort. Davis is in constant communication with Peter Marocco, the State Department official overseeing USAID’s restructuring.

For those who have worked with Davis before, his central role at DOGE is no surprise. Over the past 20 years, he has played a key part in Musk’s cost-cutting operations at companies like SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Twitter.

A Career Built on Ruthless Efficiency

Davis first joined SpaceX in 2003 when he was a graduate student in aerospace engineering at Stanford. At the time, Musk personally selected him, asking a teaching assistant to recommend the hardest-working students who weren’t married. Davis fit the profile and was soon sleeping in a tent next to the first Falcon 1 rocket in the Marshall Islands.

Over the years, he played a crucial role in developing the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. When Musk challenged him to source a rocket part for less than $5,000 (compared to its $120,000 market price), Davis designed a replacement himself in just nine months—for $3,900.

As the CEO of The Boring Company, Davis has led a strict cost-cutting operation for over eight years. Employees recall his obsessive focus on expenses, micromanaging even the smallest purchases, and refusing to sign off on hundreds-of-dollar expenditures without review.

According to former employees, Davis operates with military-like discipline—keeping budgets tight and employees under pressure.

“He hates waste. He wants to be involved in every decision,” said one former Boring Company engineer.

This same hardline approach was evident when Musk took over Twitter. Davis played a leading role in mass layoffs, cost-cutting measures, and aggressive vendor negotiations.

His favorite tactic was simply refusing to pay bills, forcing vendors to renegotiate deals. In one instance, when Twitter’s real estate team warned Davis that breaking lease agreements would result in penalties, his response was blunt:

“We’re not paying those fees. We’re just not going to pay landlords.”

At Twitter, Davis was so committed to the company that he, his partner, and their newborn child slept in the office for weeks.

“Davis would call at any time—day or night, even weekends,” recalled a former Twitter employee.

The Dogged Pursuit of Government Downsizing

Now, at DOGE, Davis is bringing the same mindset to the U.S. government. His top priority? Slashing government programs and spending. USAID is just the beginning.

“We were the first target, but we won’t be the last,” said a senior USAID official.

Since January 20, DOGE has been digging through federal budgets, questioning spending, and seeking ways to dismantle entire agencies.

In late January, a dispute over a $153 million USAID expenditure put the agency in Musk and Davis’s crosshairs. Davis, working alongside Marocco and DOGE officials, viewed the payment as a sign of financial mismanagement—leading to mass suspensions of USAID employees and escalating the Trump administration’s push to shut down the agency.

DOGE teams have since gained access to USAID’s financial systems and begun interrogating staff about spending decisions.

Inside DOGE’s "Hostile Takeover" of USAID

DOGE’s tactics have been described as a corporate-style “hostile takeover” of a government agency. Employees were suspended, internal financial records were seized, and access to key databases was restricted.

By February 3, DOGE had effectively frozen USAID operations—causing aid shipments to halt and funding for global humanitarian programs to dry up.

“They’re treating us like a failing business they’re trying to strip down,” said one USAID official.

Internal emails also revealed a sense of paranoia, with USAID employees suspecting that DOGE officials were monitoring their meetings.

“We started seeing our virtual meetings getting automatically recorded. We couldn’t turn it off. It felt like surveillance,” one employee said.

DOGE’s aggressive cost-cutting mission is expected to expand beyond USAID. Sources close to the administration say the Department of Education and even the Pentagon are next in line for major restructuring.

Davis: The Man Behind Musk’s Most Ruthless Projects

For Davis, DOGE represents the ultimate test of his lifelong commitment to efficiency. His ability to strip down bureaucracies, eliminate waste, and negotiate aggressively has earned him Musk’s unwavering trust.

But his reputation for ruthless cost-cutting has also made him a feared figure.

At The Boring Company, engineers recall Davis making them personally deliver machine parts between Austin and Las Vegas to avoid next-day shipping costs.

“If a critical part was missing, we’d have to pay someone’s cousin to track down a delivery truck in Arizona and tell the driver to keep moving,” one employee said.

At DOGE, his cost-cutting strategy is on full display. Employees have described late-night meetings, relentless pressure, and a culture of fear.

One former Twitter employee summed up Davis’s philosophy:

“If it doesn’t make money, it doesn’t matter.”

Now, that same approach is being applied to the U.S. government—with Steve Davis as the enforcer and Elon Musk as the mastermind.

(Sources: Fortune, LA Times, WSJ)

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