Elon Musk sides with MAGA for a change, blasts CBS's 60 Minutes for lying about DOGE’s raid at the United States’ international aid agency

Billionaire Elon Musk, siding with the anti-CBS crowd, took to social media late Sunday to accuse the network’s flagship investigative program of falsely reporting on DOGE’s raid at the US international aid agency, as per a report.

Musk’s comments came after the network aired an excerpt from an interview with a former USAID worker who was let go following a Musk-led shutdown, DailyBeast reported.

The worker shared about the uncertainty she and other former colleagues faced after losing their livelihoods in the interview, as per the report.

Elon Musk says “60 Minutes are such liars”

He took to X (formerly Twitter) to call 60 Minutes “liars.” He wrote “As the Community Note states, all employees were offered 8 months of pay and benefits,” as quoted in the report. Musk also claimed that the severance package extended only to workers who actively chose to leave their posts within a few working days of the offer being announced.

In his response, Musk continued to lash out at the program’s coverage, suggesting that the network was spreading misinformation. He further criticized 60 Minutes in a comment, referencing the show’s November interview with former vice president Kamala Harris. He suggested the network had lied in an attempt to influence the election's outcome, as per DailyBeast report.

Musk’s attack echoes Republican figures’ longstanding problems

Musk’s outburst against the network follows a familiar trend of prominent Republican figures taking aim at the program. Notably, US president Donald Trump has been outspoken against 60 Minutes for what he claimed was a skewed portrayal of him during his interview with the program. Earlier in October, Trump cancelled a planned appearance with 60 Minutes over disagreements about fact-checking, leading to a public spat, reported DailyBeast.

Trump later called for CBS’s license to be revoked and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the network, which he later increased to $20 billion, as reports suggested that Paramount, CBS’s parent company, may be attempting to settle the lawsuit despite protests from the show’s producers.

FAQs

Why did Elon Musk criticize 60 Minutes?
Elon Musk criticized 60 Minutes after they aired an interview with a former USAID worker who was laid off following a Musk-led shutdown. He accused the program of spreading misinformation, particularly regarding severance packages offered to workers.

Has 60 Minutes faced other controversies?
Yes, 60 Minutes has faced similar controversies, particularly from Republican figures like Donald Trump. After cancelling an interview in October, over disagreements about fact-checking, later filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS.