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.

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

Screenshots from Priscilla Houliston's TikTok video
@the1870studio/Tiktok

Woman Who Bought An Old Church For Under $40k To Live In Explains How She Did It

It's becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to find a home for those who do not already have one or who are in dire need of an upgrade.

TikToker Priscilla Houliston is here to teach us another way: seeking out old churches and other obscure properties that can be re-zoned as a residential home property.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Pentagon Just Banned Press Photographers Over 'Unflattering' Photos Of Pete Hegseth—And The Internet Got To Work

The internet reacted exactly as you might expect after the Pentagon announced it would ban some press photographers from briefings about the Iran war due to their "unflattering" photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Here's a silly one, just because.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @italiangirl1130's TikTok video
@italiangirl1130/TikTok

Italian Exchange Student's Reaction To American Host Mom Taking Him To Olive Garden Is An Instant Classic

A joy that not nearly enough people get to have during high school is hosting an international student who comes to visit for either one semester or perhaps even an entire year to experience the world and the educational system from another country.

Tiktoker Rhonda, who goes by @italiangirl1130 on the platform, currently has the pleasure of hosting Alessandro, and her family has already filmed a variety of antics on the platform, trying to give the teen the best American experience they can.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @ali.fragster, @pluto_theservicedog, and @thatflippingagent's TikTok videos
@ali.fragster/TikTok; @pluto_theservicedog/TikTok: @thatflippingagent/TikTok

Woman's Video Shooing Kid At Disneyland Away From Her Service Dog Sparks Heated Debate

A massive debate has taken over TikTok about who needs to be protected, children or service dogs or both, and it all started with a video taken at Disneyland.

TikToker @pluto_theservicedog frequently posts videos of her travels with her service dog, Pluto, and she also creates informative videos about how the general public should interact with service dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hudson Williams (left) and François Arnaud (right)
Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

'Heated Rivalry' Stars Call Out The Show's Toxic Fans And Their 'Hateful Love' With Blunt Statement

Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and François Arnaud took to social media to call out hateful comments from some of the show’s fans.

Both Williams, who plays Shane Hollander in the series, and Arnaud, who plays Scott Hunter, have recently been the targets of a wave of hostile online commentary. Their message addressed viewers who were trying to pit the actors and other cast members against one another.

Keep ReadingShow less