After a series of ultimatum-like emails demanding federal employees report their work for the past week—or face termination—Elon Musk has finally given an explanation that left many stunned.

"This is simply a test to see if they are actually working and capable of responding to an email," said billionaire Musk—who also serves as an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump—on February 24.

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Federal Employees Receive Unexpected Emails

On the afternoon of February 22, numerous U.S. federal employees received an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with the subject line: "What have you done in the past week?"

According to emails obtained by Reuters and AFP, employees were required to respond with five bullet points detailing their work, with a deadline of 11:59 PM on February 24 (U.S. time).

Shortly after, Musk took to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to warn that failure to respond would be considered a resignation.

The email has caused headaches for multiple U.S. department heads, exposing potential tensions between Musk and the federal government.

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Government Agencies Push Back

The heads of several key U.S. agencies—including the FBI, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy—instructed their employees not to respond to the OPM’s email.

The Department of Defense reportedly fell into chaos over the weekend as officials scrambled to decide what guidance to give employees on how to handle the request.

Other agencies sought a middle ground. For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initially instructed employees to comply by submitting their five-point work summaries to a government email, only to later revoke the directive.

Many other agencies opted to delay any response until the deadline on February 24.

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Musk Lashes Out at Resistance

Musk expressed frustration over the backlash, writing on X:

"It is extremely concerning that some parts of the government think this request is unreasonable. What is wrong with them?"

Venture capitalist Garry Tan also took to X, mocking the situation by suggesting that the Government Performance Board (DOGE) would be unable to process all the responses, calling the directive "stupid" and mere "political theater."

Musk fired back with confidence, declaring:

"This mess will be sorted out this week. A lot of people will have to wake up and face reality. They don’t understand it yet, but they will."

On the evening of February 23, Musk made another provocative remark, suggesting that any federal employee who responded to the email was proving that their brain cells were still functioning.

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The Fallout and What’s Next

This latest development adds to the growing tensions between Musk and the federal government, particularly as he exerts influence through both his business empire and advisory role.

The aftermath of this ultimatum remains uncertain, but one thing is clear—Musk is not backing down, and his demands for federal employee accountability are pushing Washington into uncharted territory.