Elon Musk fumed on Monday evening after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said government workers do not have to comply with an email demanding that they justify their jobs.

The Context

Musk announced on X, formerly Twitter, over the weekend that federal workers would receive “an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.” He added that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

The announcement—as well as the subsequent email, which did not include the threat of termination—sent federal agencies into a tailspin and culminated in the OPM telling agency heads on Monday that compliance with Musk’s demand was voluntary.

OPM’s update came hours after President Donald Trump publicly backed Musk, calling his decree a “pretty ingenious idea” and adding that those who don’t respond by Monday’s midnight deadline are “semi-fired or fired.”

What To Know

Musk raged on Monday evening, writing on X that the initial “email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!”

“Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers,” he added. “Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent? Makes old Twitter look good. Didn’t think that was possible.”

In a follow-up post, the SpaceX CEO and head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency wrote that “subject to the discretion of the President,” workers would be “given another chance” to respond.

“Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” he added.

Confusion and alarm rippled across the federal bureaucracy after the initial email went out on Saturday, demanding workers submit a response by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday.

Concerns ran particularly deep at agencies that do sensitive and often classified work, including the U.S. intelligence community, the Department of Defense, the State Department, the FBI and others.

The heads of government agencies also gave conflicting guidance on whether to follow Musk’s order. The Pentagon, the Justice Department, the FBI, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration all instructed employees to disregard the email or said ignoring it would not result in termination.

HHS told employees late Monday that “there is no HHS expectation that HHS employees respond to OPM and there is no impact to your employment with the agency if you choose not to respond,” according to multiple reports citing the email.

It also went a step further and warned employees that, if they did choose to respond, “assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly.”

Other agencies suggested the rank and file take creative approaches to answering the email, like the U.S. Secret Service, which reportedly said over the weekend that officers could reply to the email in part by saying: “This week I accomplished: 100% of the tasks and duties required of me by my position description.”

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.