Cruz applauds Musk as Tesla founder leaves government

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, this week applauded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chief Elon Musk for his work, saying the American people owed him a good deal of gratitude for weathering the public backlash to find waste and fraud in the government.

Speaking on Fox News's "Hannity", the lawmaker responded to Sean Hannity highlighting the vandalism and violence at Tesla dealerships while he worked at DOGE under President Donald Trump.

"Five years ago, Elon Musk was a hero to the left," Cruz said. "And then, he had the temerity to speak the truth... and the left decided he was Adolf Hitler."

“I think the American people ought to be saying to Elon, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. He came and spent four months working for the American people free of charge. Didn’t collect a salary, made nothing. He rooted out massive waste, fraud and abuse, and he did so at enormous cost to himself," he said. "His stock holdings dropped tens of billions of dollars."

“I think Elon is an extraordinary entrepreneur and extraordinary business leader," he went on. 

Musk announced this week that he would depart his government role as his time as a special government employee wound down.