Musk says DOGE will make 'rapid safety upgrades' to air traffic control system

Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday said the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will make “rapid safety upgrades” to the air traffic control systems with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“With the support of President @realDonaldTrump, the @DOGE team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system,” Musk wrote Wednesday on the social platform X, which he owns.

“Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!” he added, likely referring to an outage of the FAA’s Notice to Air Mission system over the weekend.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN over the weekend that the system allows pilots to download flight details ahead of a trip and is required for planes to fly.

Shortly before Musk’s post on Wednesday, Duffy posted on X that he spoke with the DOGE team, who will “plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”

The Department of Transportation (DOT) did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more details on what these upgrades could look like.

When asked about the upgrades, a White House spokesperson doubled down on DOGE’s mission.

“DOGE is fulfilling President Trump’s commitment to making government more accountable, efficient, and, most importantly, restoring proper stewardship of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars,” the spokesperson said. “Those leading this mission with Elon Musk are doing so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security clearances, and as employees of the relevant agencies, not as outside advisors or entities.”

“The ongoing operations of DOGE may be seen as disruptive by those entrenched in the federal bureaucracy, who resist change,” the spokesperson added. “While change can be uncomfortable, it is necessary and aligns with the mandate supported by more than 77 million American voters.”

Musk owns SpaceX, a leading aerospace company, along with electric vehicle maker Tesla and the social media company X.

His remarks come nearly a week after a deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport between a passenger plane and a military helicopter. All 67 people aboard the American Airlines plane and helicopter were killed.

The crash prompted scrutiny of the FAA, along with the Trump administration’s plans to reduce federal bureaucracy.

FAA employees were reportedly sent an offer to resign with eight months’ pay one day before the collision, but an official with the Office of Personnel Management later said controllers were not eligible for the offer, The Associated Press reported.

There is no evidence the efforts to reduce the federal workforce played a role in the collision, and a shortage of air traffic controllers had been an issue long before President Trump took office or began DOGE.

Thousands of federal workers have been offered the buyout as Trump, Musk and DOGE look to slash government spending and bureaucracy. On his first day in office, Trump issued a federal government hiring freeze that applies to much of the federal government, but air traffic controllers were not included in this freeze, the AP noted.

Musk made headlines this week after his team pushed for access to the Treasury Department’s payment system, and DOGE staff has been involved at the Small Business Administration and the Government Services Administration. Musk has also been a vocal proponent of gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) quickly slammed Duffy’s announcement of DOGE’s work.

“They have no relevant experience. Most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car. And you’re going to let them mess with airline safety that’s already deteriorated on your watch?” she wrote on X.

Some of the DOGE staff members are reportedly young adults, some of whom have reportedly not graduated from college.

Duffy clapped back, writing on X, “Madam Secretary, with all due respect, ‘experienced’ Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. You need to sit this one out.”