Insider Today: Uncle Elon vs. Uncle Sam

Musk has reportedly faced a warning from the Justice Department already.

On the agenda today:

An internal Tesla salary database shows Elon Musk’s pay strategy: Lower salaries, bigger stock grants.
Inside Forward’s failed bet on its AI-powered doctor-in-a-box.
The debate brewing inside Goldman Sachs over David Solomon’s marketing expansion.
On-the-job training is broken. Companies are paying a steep price.

But first: The world’s richest man takes on the world’s biggest government budget.

Walking the DOGE

Elon Musk made his name and fortune disrupting antiquated industries. Next in his sights: Government.

As co-lead of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he’s charged with finding waste in the US government’s $6.75 trillion in spending.

The billionaire has approached the task in attention-grabbing fashion. The department shares a name with Musk’s favorite dog meme. Musk has promised a leaderboard tracking “insanely dumb” government spending.

A JD for the department asks for “super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries.” Those interested can apply by a direct message on Musk’s social media platform X.

Musk has shown himself to be a master cost cutter. His slashing of jobs at Twitter inspired Silicon Valley founders. Tesla can sell EVs at a lower price than its US rivals and still churn out profits. SpaceX dramatically reduced the cost of sending rockets into space.

And Republican control of both chambers of Congress gives Musk’s efforts to curtail government an advantage over earlier efforts under Presidents Reagan and Clinton.

Time will tell if Musk can do for Big Government what he’s done for Big Tech.

Tesla’s pay packets

Anyone who accepts a job offer from Tesla must make a wager on the company itself, accepting lower base pay up front for the chance of a potentially lucrative future payout.

B-17 secured access to an internal Tesla pay database, revealing the company’s high-risk, high-reward system. The pay structure is ultimately part of CEO Elon Musk’s quest to hire the most “hardcore” employees.

Inside the automaker’s salary data.

Dr. Robot will not see you now

The healthcare startup Forward went all in on its AI doc-in-a-box. “If Elon has the self-driving car, well, this is the autonomous doctor’s office,” its CEO said in 2023.

But after raising $650 million in funding, it’s going dark. Forward’s closure shows the perils of AI-fueled style over substance.

A failed attempt to revolutionize the doctor’s office.

Goldman’s marketing spree

Goldman’s unveiling of a new logo this year went largely unnoticed by most people outside finance. But inside the storied investment bank it left some perplexed — and spotlighted the executive behind it: Fiona Carter, the bank’s chief marketing officer.

Since joining Goldman in 2020, Carter’s marketing team has made waves, from its rapid growth to the spending associated with glitzy sponsorships. Several high-ranking officials told B-17 they questioned the cost and efficacy of the bank’s marketing efforts.

More on the team’s head-turning expansion.

A DIY training dilemma

When companies look to cut costs, on-the-job training is an easy place to start. The plethora of available tech means new hires can spend a little time with a video module, then hit the ground running. Right?

Wrong. The decline of job training means more and more of Corporate America is just winging it. Outsourcing training to the robots is a costly mistake that comes back to bite in the end.

Too many videos, not enough mentors.

This week’s quote:

“When our call ended, I did another quick little happy dance, swung my chair around, and shouted, ‘We did it, team! We did it!'”

— Sylvia Yeh on her reaction to being promoted to partner at Goldman Sachs.

More of this week’s top reads:

• OpenAI is reportedly struggling to improve its next big AI model. It’s a warning for the entire AI industry.
• The winners of Wall Street bonus season this year: the underwriters.
• Disney dodges the Trump question.
• This new Goldman Sachs partner is leading the bank’s strategy with young heirs and founders.
• Inside the secretive operation helping manage billionaire Steve Schwarzman’s vast fortune.
• Homeland builders fear Trump’s mass deportations would inflate costs and make it even harder to hire.
• ​I’m a wealth manager who’s spent years handling family members’ estates. I’m leaving ironclad legal directives for my kids.
• Silicon Valley investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz celebrate Trump’s win as ‘a boot off the throat.’