Elon Musk suggested that he might be the driving force behind Donald Trump’s recent move to eliminate federal workers by sharing a symbolic image on X reminiscent of his well-known Twitter cleanup.

In 2022, the billionaire CEO of Tesla made waves by taking control of Twitter and rebranding it as X, a decision that left 80 percent of the workforce abruptly laid off, causing significant discontent among employees.

During that time, he distributed a memo to employees titled ‘A Fork in the Road,’ where he cautioned that he needed to take a ‘very strict’ approach to successfully develop a groundbreaking Twitter 2.0 amidst intensifying competition.

‘This will mean working long hours at high intensity,’ he told staff. ‘Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.’

Musk offered employees a link to click if they were certain they wanted to ‘be part of the new Twitter.’

Anyone who did not click the link by 5pm the very next day were immediately handed three months severance pay and let go. 

‘Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful.’

Now, Donald Trump’s letter to federal employees has been revealed and illustrates the stark similarities between the two – including the same exact title – suggesting that ‘First Buddy’ Musk has had a significant role in shaping the policy.

Musk has since shared on X that he commissioned an artwork of an enormous fork standing in the road

Musk carried a sink into Twitter headquarters after the purchase while stating: ‘Let that sink in’

Elon Musk has hinted he is the mastermind behind Donald Trump ‘s latest decision to purge federal government with a symbolic picture harking back to his Twitter cleanse

‘If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce. 

‘At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions.

‘If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.’

Musk has since shared on X that he commissioned an artwork of an enormous fork standing in the road.

‘Two years ago, I commissioned an art piece: A Fork in the Road,’ he wrote.

‘Had to make sure that civilization took the path most likely to pass the Fermi Great Filters.’

The art piece is located at the Tesla HQ in Texas.

Musk’s role with the Department of Government Efficiency is primarily to reduce unnecessary government spending.

Musk and Trump developed a close friendship during the presidential campaign after the billionaire endorsed the Republican and became a high spending donor

‘DOGE is saving the Federal Government approx. $1 billion/day, mostly from stopping the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, deletion of DEI and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations, all consistent with the President’s Executive Orders,’ DOGE said in a statement.

‘A good start, though this number needs to increase to > $3 billion/day.’

The Trump administration started sending emails to thousands of federal workers Tuesday evening offering them a chance to voluntarily vacate their government posts while remaining on the payroll for months.

To take the deal, employees were told to type the word ‘resign’ into the subject line of their response. 

The ‘majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,’ according to the email.

A spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management said the employees who accept the terms were being offered the chance to go on administrative leave through Sept. 30 at full pay. 

An administration official told DailyMail.com the program could save up to $100 billion, but the the White House has not put forward information on how it got to the figure. Officials are predicting up to 10 percent of the workforce could take the deal for a delayed resignation. 

Musk and Trump developed a close friendship during the presidential campaign after the billionaire endorsed the Republican and donated $250 million to help him win.

The billionaire Tesla founder sensationally took over Twitter and renamed it X in 2022 to much dismay from staff, 80 per cent of whom found themselves unceremoniously sacked

Elon Musk claimed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump asked SpaceX to bring the astronauts home as soon as possible

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck at the International Space Station since June 5. They are pictured giving a news conference in July 

Trump rewarded his loyalty with the DOGE role, praising Musk’s history of ruthless business decisions.

In addition to his work with DOGE, Musk revealed Trump has tasked him with bringing home the two astronauts stranded in space.

Musk, who founded SpaceX and has been outspoken in his vision to get humans on Mars, was tasked in August with bringing Butch Wilmore, 62, and Sunita Williams, 59, back to Earth in February after NASA officials deemed Boeing’s Starliner was not up to the mission.

Yet Williams’ and Wilmore’s replacements are not set to arrive at the International Space Station until late March or early April – meaning the stranded astronauts will have to stay until then to conduct a handover. 

In a post on X, though, Musk said he was tasked by President Donald Trump to immediately bring the stranded astronauts home.

He then hit out at former President Joe Biden for not acting sooner. 

‘Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,’ he lamented.

Trump later confirmed that he made the request.

‘I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go get” the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned by the Biden administration,’ he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

‘They have been waiting many months on [the] Space Station,’ he continued. ‘Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe,’ the president said.