SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new steps in his plans to use artificial intelligence to boost “government efficiency,” delivering a rebuke of Elon Musk’s dramatic cost-slashing methods as the tech mogul takes a step back from Washington, and California challenges federal cuts in court.
“I could have easily come in here with sunglasses and chainsaws — you know where I’m going — and gotten your attention,” Newsom said Tuesday during a press conference in Los Angeles while announcing three new agreements with contractors to use generative AI for mitigating highway congestion, boosting traffic safety and supporting customer services.
“We’re DOGE but better.”
Newsom’s jabs at the tech mogul he used to revere but now views with increasing suspicion come as Musk watches his once-commanding influence over Washington begin to wane, saying last week he plans to step back from government work to further focus on Tesla, and as reports indicate government spending is actually increasing amid the DOGE cuts.
It also comes as the governor and other California Democrats start to ramp up their resistance against Donald Trump amid growing public outcry over the administration’s policies as the president crosses the 100-day mark of his second term. California on Tuesday officially filed a lawsuit with other states over DOGE’s effort to dismantle the federal volunteer service AmeriCorps, following a separate lawsuit earlier this month over tariffs.
The governor’s announcement follows his 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence and plans to use the technology to streamline California’s bureaucracy. He first outlined plans to deploy AI in highway congestion, traffic safety and tax solutions last year.
The three new agreements will build on business consultancy Accenture’s work with Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI to curb highway congestion and consulting firm Deloitte’s work with Google Gemini to improve traffic safety, while California’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration plans to work with Anthropic AI model Claude to streamline customer service.
Newsom also touted the state’s new “Engaged California” project, a website created in February aimed at promoting civic engagement in the wake of the destructive Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.
Newsom drew a sharp contrast between his plan and Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to hollowing out the federal bureaucracy under DOGE.
“The announcement we’re making today was done in partnership with state workers and employees,” he added. “That’s the difference.”
Musk has defended his work at DOGE as an effort to “try to get the country back on the right track” by “addressing waste and fraud” in the federal bureaucracy. The department says it has saved the federal government more than $160 billion after Musk initially promised $2 trillion in savings.
“They haven’t come close to the savings they’ve asserted,“ Newsom said Tuesday. “I think it’s been very damaging.”
Newsom once touted a close relationship with Musk as the tech titan grew his businesses in California and last year defended Musk in his dispute with a state agency that rejected a plan to increase SpaceX’s rocket launches off the Pacific coast. The governor said Tuesday he hopes Musk “comes back around” to focusing on his Tesla and SpaceX ventures.
“If that’s his legacy,” Newsom said, referencing DOGE, “it’s tarnishing the legacy he should otherwise be proud of: creating one of the world’s great automobile companies and rocket companies.”