Who is Nikhil Rajpal? All about the Indian-origin techie who is part of Elon Musk's DOGE team

The recently formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under Elon Musk's leadership, has recruited six young engineers. The team comprises individuals aged 19 to 24, including Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, Ethan Shaotran, and Indian-origin techie Akash Bobba. Reportedly, one of the members is still pursuing studies.

Meanwhile, name of another Indian-origin techie has surfaced who said to be a key member of the DOGE team with significant government access.

The techie has been identified as 30-year-old Indian-origin technologist Nikhil Rajpal. A UC Berkeley graduate with expertise in computer science and history, Rajpal has become influential in Musk's DOGE task force. According to The Wired, he serves as DOGE's representative at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), wielding considerable governmental access.

Nikhil Rajpal Profile

Prior to Twitter's acquisition by Musk, Rajpal worked at the social media company and had previously contributed to Tesla's console redesign. During his university years, he headed a libertarian student organisation advocating for minimal governance, economic freedom, and individual rights.

In 2014, whilst interning at Viget, he presented a bitcoin-focused talk. His personal website's Instapaper account, titled "Read the articles I read", showcases content from various publications including Richard Hanania, Quillette, Zero Hedge, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg.

Rajpal's NOAA appointment has generated controversy regarding DOGE's expanding governmental influence. Acting Commerce Secretary Jeremy Pelter recently directed NOAA staff to provide Rajpal editor access to all NOAA Google sites. This occurred alongside the administrative leave of a veteran NOAA employee managing diversity programmes, mere weeks before their retirement.

The report states: "Nothing in his background suggests any special expertise relevant to his new role." Further concerns arose when DOGE personnel visited NOAA facilities in Maryland seeking IT systems access, as verified by Wired and Axios. Questions persist about appointing a tech engineer without apparent scientific credentials to a significant position in a nonpartisan climate science organisation.