Elon Musk Is Stepping Back From DOGE. Can He Really Stay Away?

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: Elon Musk Is Stepping Back From DOGE. Can He Really Stay Away?
Release Date: April 25, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of the WSJ Tech News Briefing, host Katie Dayton delves into two major tech stories shaping the industry: Johnson & Johnson's strategic pivot in their artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives and Elon Musk's evolving role concerning his involvement with Dogecoin (DOGE) and his responsibilities at Tesla amidst his governmental engagements. The discussion provides insightful analysis into corporate AI governance and the intricate balance tech leaders maintain between their entrepreneurial ventures and public service roles.

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Johnson & Johnson's AI Strategy Reassessment

Initial Approach to AI Innovation

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) embarked on an ambitious journey to integrate generative AI across its various departments. Initially, the company fostered a culture of broad experimentation, encouraging employees from supply chain, sales, commercial, and research & development to propose AI use cases relevant to their domains. This inclusive strategy led to the conception of approximately 900 separate AI projects, as reported by Isabel Busquet at [01:49].

Isabel Busquet elaborates, “Initially, they were just really focused on broad experimentation. They just wanted everyone across the company, no matter what domain they were working in … to just think about what use cases would make sense in this domain” ([01:49]).

Challenges and Resource Allocation

However, this expansive approach revealed significant challenges. The sheer volume of projects strained resources and diluted focus, leading to inefficiencies. Many of the 900 initiatives were either duplicative or failed to deliver anticipated value. Isabel Busquet highlights, “900 ideas is insane. That's like doing extra, extra work” ([02:35]).

Realizing that only a small fraction of these projects were generating substantial value, J&J recognized the need to streamline its AI efforts. The company discovered that the top 10 to 15% of use cases were driving approximately 80% of the value, prompting a strategic shift towards prioritizing high-impact projects ([02:59]).

Strategic Refocus

To implement this refined approach, J&J initiated a pause to evaluate its existing AI projects, deciding to cut down on less effective initiatives and channel resources into the most promising ones. Notable areas of continued investment include the development of "rep copilot," a tool designed to assist sales representatives in product knowledge distribution, and ongoing efforts in drug discovery, where AI holds significant potential for accelerating research and development ([03:55]).

Isabel Busquet summarizes the shift, “They were finding that they were spending a lot of resources pursuing a lot of use cases that some of which they were just not panning out … they really wanted to refocus their resources on just those top value driving use cases” ([03:11]).

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Elon Musk's Transition: Balancing Tesla, DOGE, and Government Roles

Musk’s Dual Responsibilities

Elon Musk's multifaceted roles have been a focal point of discussion, particularly his simultaneous leadership at Tesla and his involvement with the Trump administration. During the episode, WSJ columnist Tim Higgins provides an in-depth analysis of Musk’s recent decision to adjust his commitments.

Musk recently informed Tesla investors of his intention to reduce his time dedicated to governmental duties, signaling a shift from his previously intensive schedule that reportedly involved up to 100 hours a week managing government responsibilities ([06:13]).

Impact on Tesla and Strategic Directions

This reevaluation of his time has significant implications for Tesla, especially as the company navigates intense competition from agile electric vehicle manufacturers in China. Under Musk’s leadership, Tesla has pivoted towards focusing on robot taxis and humanoid robots, betting heavily on AI as the company's future cornerstone. While this strategic direction has garnered excitement, it has also raised concerns among investors about the concentration of resources and the potential risks associated with such ambitious ventures ([08:29]).

Tim Higgins notes, “He has people that have, at least in the past, been loyal to him and in some key positions. He clearly will continue to have influence in the Trump administration to the extent of it will be the big question” ([10:59]).

DOGE Ambitions and Future Involvement

Musk's relationship with DOGE, the cryptocurrency, has been a subject of much speculation. His recent announcement about stepping back from his active role in DOGE reflects a potential shift in focus, possibly influenced by shareholder pressures or broader strategic considerations. However, Higgins expresses skepticism about Musk abandoning his ties entirely, suggesting that his influence within the Trump administration and the foundational support he has established may allow him to maintain a degree of involvement without the demanding time commitments previously observed ([10:11]).

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Conclusion

This episode of WSJ Tech News Briefing underscores the dynamic nature of AI integration within large corporations like Johnson & Johnson, highlighting the necessity of strategic focus to harness meaningful value from technological investments. Simultaneously, the discussion around Elon Musk illustrates the complexities tech leaders face in balancing multiple high-stakes roles and the ripple effects their decisions have across industries and markets. As these stories unfold, they offer valuable lessons on the intersection of technology, leadership, and strategic decision-making in today's fast-paced world.

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Notable Quotes:

• Isabel Busquet at [01:49]: “Initially, they were just really focused on broad experimentation… to just think about what use cases would make sense in this domain.”

• Isabel Busquet at [02:35]: “900 ideas is insane. That's like doing extra, extra work.”

• Isabel Busquet at [03:11]: “… they really wanted to refocus their resources on just those top value driving use cases.”

• Tim Higgins at [10:11]: “… perhaps his influence in the Trump administration is not as inevitable as it may look after the November election.”

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Produced by Julie Chang with support from Ariana Asbury, Pierre Biennmay, and Victoria Craig. Theme music by Craig, Jessica Fenton, and Michael Lavelle.

Transcript

[Katie Dayton]

Brought to you by the RE MAX collection. Visit remax.com luxury each office independently owned and operated. Hey, TMB listeners, our recent series Chatbot Confidential dug into some of the privacy risks that come with using chatbots powered by generative AI. What questions do you have about bots like ChatGPT or Claude and your privacy, like what kind of data they collect or how long companies hold onto it? Record a voice memo and send it to tmbsj.com or leave us a voicemail at 212-416-2236. That's 212-416-2236. We might answer your question in an upcoming episode. Now onto the show. Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Friday, April 25th. Hi, I'm Katie Dayton for the Wall Street Journal. Some companies that let their staff run riots when it comes to artificial intelligence are thinking it might be a good time to reign things back in. We look at the case of Johnson and Johnson, whose employees at one point were working on nearly 900 separate AI projects. Then we're back with the final installment in our series on Elon Musk's first 100 days in Washington. Is this really the end of the road for his Doge ambitions? But first, the healthcare company Johnson and Johnson is shifting its strategy when it comes to generative AI. The reason? Its employees have been a little overzealous in their embrace of the new technology. Reporter Isabel Busquet has the story. So, Isabel, take us back to the beginning here. When AI first broke out onto the scene a few years ago, what did Johnson and Johnson's corporate approach to the technology look like?

[Isabel Busquet]

Initially, they were just really focused on broad experimentation. They just wanted everyone across the company, no matter what domain they were working in, supply chain sales, commercial R and D, to just think about what use cases would make sense in this domain. And then they set up this centralized sort of governance board where anyone could come to that with ideas. And then if it made sense governance wise, they could approve it and then just start pursuing their use cases and experimenting. So there were a lot of ideas that came out of that period. They told me, like 900. Some use cases were brainstormed. So it started off really, really broad, just with a lot of ideas and a lot of experimenting.

[Katie Dayton]

900 ideas is insane. That's like doing extra, extra work.

[Isabel Busquet]

Yeah, it's so crazy. You know, this isn't the only company I've heard talk about that. You know, when companies tell me like, oh, we have Hundreds of generative AI use cases, hundreds of GPTs hundreds of this, hundreds of that. It's really crazy. And you do have to take a step back and wonder, do you really need that money and are they all driving value?

[Katie Dayton]

And so in your reporting, you know, you say that J and J has since shifted away from that strategy to one that's a little bit more refined when it comes to AI. Why is that? What wasn't working about the old ways of doing things?

[Isabel Busquet]

They were finding that they were spending a lot of resources pursuing a lot of use cases that some of which they were just not panning out. Maybe it didn't have the right data, maybe it just wasn't a good use case for generative AI and something else worked better. Or a lot of them were also duplicative. They told me that this isn't just generative AI, but with all their AI across the company, just the top 10 to 15% of use cases were driving 80% of the value. And so they really wanted to refocus their resources on just those top value driving use cases.

[Katie Dayton]

How did the company go about implementing this new, more rigorous approach to AI?

[Isabel Busquet]

It started with a pause to kind of evaluate, okay, this is what we have, 900 use cases. Let's figure out where do we cut and where do we invest. And then they're continuing to pour resources into the sort of the high level use cases that are working. They see a lot of value. Something that they call rep copilot, something that helps their sales reps learn about the different products that they sell to. Talk to healthcare professionals about that, like knowledge distribution, use cases, if you will. They still see a lot of value in the research, drug discovery area. That's an area where people have talked about AI for so many years. It hasn't really totally come to fruition yet, but there's an idea that it can definitely accelerate some parts of the process.

[Katie Dayton]

That was our reporter Isabel Busquet. Coming up, we're nearing the end of Elon Musk's first 100 days in the Trump administration. What kind of power will he wield even once that comes to an end? We find out after the break.

[Tim Higgins]

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[Tim Higgins]

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[Katie Dayton]

This week, Elon Musk told Tesla investors that he plans to adjust his calendar after nearly three months of balancing or not balancing his government work with his responsibilities at the car company. To catch us up on the latest, our columnist Tim Higgins joins us for the latest and actually the final installment in our look at Musk's first 100 days in the Trump White House. So, Tim, this miniseries we've been doing is called 100 Days of Musk. And it sounds like we might not be getting any more days out of him in Washington. Can you take us through what happened during Tesla's earnings call this week?

[Tim Higgins]

You know, it's interesting. When we started talking roughly 100 days ago, the big question in Washington, on Wall street, in Silicon Valley, among Tesla investors, among Elon Musk supporters was just how long was this relationship between Musk and Trump really going to last? And having talked to a lot of people early on, they didn't think it was going to last very long. And in fact, it did continue to go for a while. But it's clear that his day to day involvement, this idea of if not sleeping on the couch at the White House, sleeping nearby, is approaching an end. And Musk told investors of Tesla in this call with analysts that he sees this kind of time commitment relaxing in the next month or so. Maybe he'll be there, maybe he'll be involved with Doge on a one or two day a week schedule going forward. But this idea of 100 hours a week involved in trying to run the government seems to be coming to an end.

[Katie Dayton]

And were you and other Musk watchers surprised by that call?

[Tim Higgins]

It seemed to be building. There had been signs that Musk's involvement was going to be perhaps tapering off. You have to remember that the role that he has at the White House is a special government employee. Not to get too technical and in the weeds, but essentially it means that he can do that job for 130 days. And so either the White House is going to have to do something else or it provided a nice way for him to off ramp. And as we watched Musk in recent weeks, it's clear that he had become at the eye of the storm politically, sometimes helpful to Trump, deflecting as they attacked political issues, but sometimes perhaps a distraction and becoming a little bit of a weight. A lot of concern coming out of that Wisconsin election where Musk invested a lot of money and even went and campaigned and didn't pull out a victory really set the chattering class off, wondering if maybe Musk's political power is not as inevitable as it maybe look like after the November election.

[Katie Dayton]

Got it. And on the other side of the coin, with his other job as the CEO of Tesla, how have his moves affected what's happening at that company?

[Tim Higgins]

If you're a Tesla investor, you are not new to the idea that Elon Musk is not giving you 100% of his time. Going back to the beginning when he was first CEO of Tesla, he still had his obligations at SpaceX. And as time went on, he just added to the things that he had in front of him with his other startups. But when you saw Musk get involved with the White House, clearly some investors were very surprised. It's just the extent of time that he was spending there. This was occupying seemingly all of his attention. And that diversion comes at a very risky and tricky time for Tesla, the car company. A company that is in huge transition, if you will, facing incredible rivalries from electric car companies in China that are really proving to be very agile and very effective in kind of rolling out vehicles that are threatening the West's hold on the future of the car business. And it also comes at a period of time where Musk had made a strategic decision at Tesla roughly about a year ago, that Tesla was going to focus its attention on robot taxis and humanoid robots, that the future of Tesla was AI, and he essentially was doubling down on that bet. This unnerved some investors and has worried some investors.

[Katie Dayton]

So we have Elon saying he will be taking a step back from Doge. It's not like him to give up on something. Where is this pressure coming from? Is it purely from Tesla shareholders or is it from some other source?

[Tim Higgins]

It's hard for me to believe that Musk is going to give up totally on the idea of the Trump administration at this point. In fact, he has suggested he'll still be involved. And there is the seeds that he has planted throughout the administration that have yet to blossom into kind of the vines of his influence that we'll all be watching very closely. Doge is not just him, though. He's clearly the motor behind it and the one who has kept it up to speed and got a lot of attention. But it seems as if perhaps as many as 100 people are involved, spread throughout all the different government agencies. He has people that have, at least in the past, been loyal to him and in some key positions. He clearly will continue to have influence in the Trump administration to the extent of it will be the big question.

[Katie Dayton]

That was WSJ columnist Tim Higgins. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang. I'm your host, Katie Dayton. Additional support this week from Ariana Asbury, Pierre Biennmay and Victoria Craig. Craig, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavelle wrote our theme music. Our development producer is Aisha Al Muslim. Scott Salloway and Chris Inslee are the deputy editors and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of News Audio. We'll be back this afternoon with TMB Tech Minutes. Thanks for listening.

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