Saving Tesla, not taxpayers? Elon Musk dodges $2.37 billion in penalties while his firm crashes, senate report finds

When Elon Musk launched the so-called Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, a humorous reference to his flirtation with cryptocurrency, he asserted he would save taxpayers $2 trillion by cutting bureaucracy. Then it was $1 trillion. Now, it’s $150 billion.
But a recent Senate probe indicates that whatever cost savings Musk hasn’t uncovered for the government, he may have secretly pocketed for himself, reported Rolling Stone.
In a report issued on Monday, Democrats on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, put the estimated number of liabilities for Musk’s businesses as of President Donald Trump‘s 2025 inauguration at least $2.37 billion stemming from 65 actual or threatened enforcement actions by 11 federal agencies.
Senate Democrats reportedly said that, whereas the $2.37 billion estimate is a plausible, low-end estimate, it grossly undervalues the actual benefit Musk can receive from mere avoidance of legal risk through his role in government.
All these cases span EEOC inquiry into racial harassment at Tesla to SEC examination of Neuralink disclosures and most spectacularly, DOJ criminal investigation of the way in which Tesla pitched its ‘Autopilot’ and ‘Full Self-Driving’ (FSD) software — now revised to “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” — on terms critics had complained were downright dangerous to make.
DOGE in, investigations out
Under a Trump administration that has embraced DOGE into federal agencies, most of these investigations have simply disappeared. The report cites a dramatic example. In February, the Department of Justice dropped quietly a discrimination case against SpaceX, which potentially could have resulted in $46 million in civil penalties.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have long cautioned that DOGE was created to break up the very regulatory agencies probing Musk’s empire.
“By design, the stunning breadth and magnitude of gains Musk is accruing from his current role may never be known, and that is by design. The silence is strategic, and it is dangerous,” the Senate report concludes.
While regulators have fallen silent, Tesla’s problems are growing louder.
In 2022, the DOJ’s probe of FSD broadened to investigate whether Tesla and Musk defrauded the public and investors regarding the capabilities of its software since 2016. As FSD subscriptions earned $596 million in 2024 alone, possible fraud penalties could double that amount to $1.19 billion, if charges were ever brought.
That’s increasingly unlikely. Rolling Stone reported that under Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s DOJ appears more interested in chasing those accused of damaging Tesla property, labelling them “domestic terrorists,” than pursuing Musk himself.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continues probing Tesla for steering failures, brake issues, unintended acceleration, and whether a recall to fix Autopilot flaws actually worked.
Tesla’s turbulent road ahead
Even if Musk has avoided legal expenses, Tesla’s balance sheet paints a darker picture.
The firm reported a 71% decline in quarterly profits from last year and only managed to stay afloat by selling carbon credits to other carmakers. Market share is dwindling, competitors such as Waymo are introducing robotaxis in urban centers, and liberal consumers are shunning the brand because of Musk’s political controversies.
On Tesla’s most recent earnings call, Musk said he would dial back his work with DOGE to focus on the struggling automaker. He also hinted at a pilot robotaxi operation in Austin this June with upgraded Model Y vehicles, even though he previously announced a special “Cybercab” last fall.
As is typical, he promised huge: “There will be millions of Teslas driving autonomously — fully autonomously — in the second half of next year.”
“Tesla will take 90-something percent of the rideshare market.”