Elon Musk on the Verge of Tears — Is DOGE Too Much to Handle?

Finding a work-life balance is hard enough for the average person, so imagine how challenging it must be for Elon Musk. He’s the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, while also serving as the chief engineer of SpaceX. And in 2025, he took on yet another role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a position he was originally supposed to share with Vivek Ramaswamy. However, Vivek quit just days into the job.

On top of his never-ending business ventures, Elon is also a father of 12 and was recently spotted with one of his baby mamas, Shivon Zilis. Needless to say, his schedule is packed, so how he manages to juggle it all remains a mystery.

While many joke that Elon isn’t entirely human, which would explain how he does so much, a viral clip from a Fox News interview about DOGE efforts suggests otherwise. The world’s richest man was visibly on the verge of tears — yes, really. Here’s what went down.

Elon Musk got candid, and even a bit emotional, during a March 10, 2025, interview with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business, appearing on the verge of tears. While discussing DOGE’s efforts to reduce wasteful government spending, Larry asked how Musk was managing his other businesses alongside his role at DOGE. "With great difficulty," Elon admitted, letting out a long sigh before simply adding, "Yeah."

Larry then pressed him further, asking, "But there’s no turning back?" Musk responded, "I’m just here trying to make the government more efficient... eliminate waste and fraud."

Elon looked visibly defeated while talking about the overwhelming challenge of balancing all his ventures, and plenty of people took notice — including X (formerly Twitter) user @Umbisam. Their repost of the clip has gone viral, with the caption: "Many years since I saw Elon almost crying in an interview, it comes to mind when top astronauts called SpaceX failures and he said, 'I’ll never give up,' in tears. I believe he’s close to a breakdown. He’s been taken in the wrong place, IMHO. Politics isn’t his playing field."

@Umbisam’s post references a 60 Minutes interview from years ago, where Elon admitted he was deeply upset over criticism from Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan regarding SpaceX’s development of commercial spaceflight. In that interview, too, Musk looked upset by the conversation, almost on the verge of tears.

It’s clear that managing all his businesses alongside his high position at DOGE is a lot to handle, based on Elon’s comments during his Fox Business interview. But some argue that his efforts might be causing more harm than good. Not only are there calls for Elon to be removed from his government position, but his Tesla stock has plummeted as well. In February 2024, Tesla stock peaked at $428 but has since dropped into the $200s.

While President Donald Trump tried to show support by buying a Tesla, many are upset about the firings happening within the government. Although Elon estimates that DOGE has saved roughly $115 billion so far, people are questioning what he’s willing to sacrifice in order to improve the government and the country. And it seems it's all beginning to take a toll on him.