Elon Musk denies checklist shared by TIME magazine: Not done any interviews

Tech titan Elon Musk has denied that the to-do list featured on the cover of TIME magazine was his checklist and clarified that he did not give any media interviews. Musk, who has been tapped by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said that his primary focus was making life multiplanetary to maximize the potential lifespan of consciousness.

The December edition of the TIME magazine carries the headline, “Citizen Musk: What’s next on his to-do list?” The cover features a photo of the Tesla CEO alongside a checklist that included achievements such as “Electric Vehicles”, “Become richest man”, “Buy Twitter”, “Launch rocket”, “Bring rocket back”, “Implant human brain chip”, “Get Trump elected”, and “Work from Mar-a-Lago”.

The checklist also included future goals like “Slash $2 trillion” and “Fly to Mars”. Responding to it, Musk said in a post on X that the list does not represent his priorities.

“To be clear, I have not done any media interviews, and this is not actually my checklist. I am trying to make life multiplanetary to maximize the probable lifespan of consciousness. Some of the items below are needed for that,” Musk tweeted.

Musk’s post received an avalanche of reactions from social media users, who responded with humour and criticism. “Establish DOGE, cut 80% of DC waste, go to Mars,” one user posted. Another posted, “They missed ‘Destroy Wokeness’.”

A third user said, “Setting the tone. They are lying on Elon on his own platform.”

Earlier this month, Donald Trump announced that Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a newly established Department of Government Efficiency tasked with cutting down wasteful expenditures. However, the department will not be a part of the government.

Several reports have claimed that Musk, the richest person in the world, has become a permanent fixture at Trump’s Florida resort, joining phone conversations with world leaders and putting his imprint on the next administration’s picks.