By Elon Musk’s recent public identification of government climate staff has unleashed waves of fear through the federal workforce, as employees worry about becoming personal targets of the world’s richest man and his millions of followers.
Last week, Musk amplified posts revealing names and titles of four relatively obscure climate-related government positions, generating tens of millions of views and triggering an avalanche of negative attention. The posts, which he shared from an account called “Fentasyl,” led at least one of the targeted employees to delete her social media accounts.
“These tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, representing more than 800,000 of the 2.3 million civilian federal workers. “It’s intended to make them fearful that they will become afraid to speak up.”
The impact of such targeting can be severe, according to Mary “Missy” Cummings, who experienced similar treatment during her time at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “It’s his way of intimidating people to either quit or also send a signal to all the other agencies that ‘you’re next,'” said Cummings, now an engineering professor at George Mason University. She received death threats and had to relocate temporarily after Musk criticized her appointment.
Several current federal employees told CNN they fear their lives could be forever changed if targeted, including facing physical threats. Others indicated the possibility of Musk’s attention might drive them from their jobs entirely. The climate of fear has spread so deeply that multiple experts on cyber harassment and online abuse declined to comment, citing concerns about becoming Musk’s next targets.
The timing of Musk’s posts has heightened anxiety among federal workers, coming as President-elect Donald Trump indicates plans for major government cuts, with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy tapped to recommend reductions. While the information Musk shared is publicly available, the targeted employees held positions that typically avoid public interaction.
The American Federation of Government Employees noted that Musk himself has benefited from federal programs as a contractor, with the government spending $750 billion annually on contractors compared to about $200 billion for the civilian workforce. “We are a comparative steal, and we want to help clean it up too,” Kelley said.
