Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Ted Cruz Mocked For Breathlessly Promoting Musk's Bizarre 'Magic Money Computers' Claim

Screenshot of Elon Musk and Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz hosted Elon Musk on his "The Verdict" podcast and things went off the rails when Musk began talking about "magic money computers" throughout government agencies.

Make us preferred on Google

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was widely mocked for hosting billionaire Elon Musk on his The Verdict podcast, only for Musk's appearance to derail after he began talking about "magic money computers" throughout Trump's governmental agencies.

Musk has garnered fierce criticism for slashing funding and personnel at federal agencies via his fake department "DOGE" despite not being an elected official—and a foreign-born, unelected official at that.


In fact, according to a White House record, Musk's job title is listed as "unlisted." When President Donald Trump established DOGE through an executive order, he integrated it into the White House by transforming the U.S. Digital Service into the U.S. DOGE Service. The order specified that an "administrator" would lead DOGE but did not indicate who held the position.

Last month, a White House spokesperson stated that Musk holds the title of an unpaid special government employee, a designation that exempts him from the standard ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations applicable to federal workers. As a result, Trump's order for federal agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force” is in full swing.

And if Musk is to be believed, it looks like these "reductions" have identified—wait for it—"magic money computers" that are allegedly wasting federal funds all throughout Trump's government.

Cruz teed Musk up:

"One of the things you told me about is what you call "magic money computers" at the Treasury. So tell us about it."

And Musk replied:

"You may think that government computers all talk to each other, they all synchronize, they add up what funds are going somewhere and its coherent and that the numbers that you're presented as a Senator are actually the real numbers...They're not."

Musk claimed that numbers were not necessarily "totally wrong" but alleged that the numbers are "probably" off from five to 10 percent, amounting to his latest baseless accusation of fraud on the part of the federal government.

"I call a computer a "magic money computer" any computer which can just make money out of thin air, that's magic money."

Amid Musk's ramblings, Cruz asked "'How does that work?" to which Musk replied:

"It just issues payments!"

Cruz followed up with:

"And you said there are something like 11 computers at [the] Treasury [Department] that are sending out trillions in payments?"

Musk replied:

"There are some at Treasury. There are some at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services], one or two at [the Department of State], there are some at DOD [the Department of Defense]. I think we've found 14 magic money computers."

Afterward, Cruz shared footage of Musk's appearance and dramatically called Musk's claims "an absolute bombshell," asserting that these "computers" exist and "send money out of nothing."

It was nonsensical—and people wasted no time in calling out both men for platforming a total fantasy.


It's worth noting that Musk has stated that his goal is to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion from the $6.75 trillion annual budget recorded in the last fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30. According to DOGE, its initiatives have led to an estimated $55 billion in savings. However, recent reports indicate that the actual savings may be significantly lower.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that the DOGE website accounts for only $16.6 billion of the $55 billion it claims to have saved. Additionally, on Tuesday, The New York Times revealed that DOGE had incorrectly cited an $8 billion savings on a federal contract that was actually valued at just $8 million.

Last week, news outlets reported that a federal judge is considering whether to temporarily block DOGE from accessing the internal systems of the Social Security Administration (SSA), an agency whose gutting has prompted protests nationwide.

So what was that about those magic money computers?

More from News/political-news

'The Craft' cast, including Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True and Neve Campbell
Columbia Pictures/Getty Images

'The Craft' Star Speaks Out After New Bratz Dolls Were Sent To Influencers But Not Original Cast

Bratz enthusiasts have a lot to be excited about right now, as a new collection of the dolls have rolled out, this time inspired specifically by the original cast of the 1996 horror film The Craft, from which Bratz dolls came to be.

But just because it's an exciting campaign doesn't mean it's perfect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trick-or-treating
The Boston Globe/Getty Images

HOA Sparks Debate After Sending Letter Telling People Not To Hand Out Full-Size Candy Bars On Halloween

Within our communities, it's important to make everyone feel welcome and included, and sometimes that means making changes so that everyone can afford to be included. But sometimes changes are made simply because someone with the power to change it doesn't want to do something.

The question is whether changes are being made for inclusivity or convenience.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @serena_loscalzo's TikTok
@serena_loscalzo/TikTok

College President Goes Above And Beyond To Help Student Prank Her Chronically Oversleeping Roommate

University of Vermont President Marlene Tromp and UVM student Hannah Lapier have gone viral after their fabulous wake-up call—and fortunately not the negative, reality-check kind!

Lapier opened up to her roommate, Serena LoScalzo, about struggling to get out of bed in the morning for her classes. Lapier prompted her friend to use any means necessary to help her make it to her morning classes on time, because she wanted to take school seriously.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @itsvictoriavega's TikTok
@itsvictoriavega/TikTok

Woman Sounds Off About 'Worst First Date Of My Life' After Guy Made Truly Unhinged Request

There are bad first dates, there are the worst first dates ever, and then there are the dates that are so terrible, you can't help but wonder how they occurred in the first place.

TikToker Victoria Vega, for example, went on a first date with a guy after what she thought was a promising start, but when she actually went on the date, it was nothing like she'd expected. In fact, she called it the worst first date of her life.

Keep ReadingShow less
TikToker Kae; Walmart storefront
@lolxdlolxdlolxd23455/TikTok; Douglas Rissing/Getty Images

Fired TikToker Shares Bonkers Behind-The-Scene Stories About What It Was Like Working At Walmart

Whether or not we've ever worked there, we've all heard horror stories and seen internet memes about "people at Walmart" and the weird things that often happen within the oversized chain convenience store.

TikToker Kae, or @lolxdlolxdlolxd23455 on the platform, worked at Walmart for more than six months and ultimately was fired because he'd accidentally logged his PTO time incorrectly and also requested multiple days off,—but he'd intended to quit anyway given his unpleasant time working there.

Keep ReadingShow less