Massive 'Public Official Cold Wave' Predicted by Musk... Japanese "Wabi-Sabi" Left on SNS

Posted on the Day the 'Government Employee Reduction' Reform Plan Was Announced
Meaning of the Quiet Atmosphere Amid Simplicity and Modesty

'Wabi-sabi' (侘び寂び)

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who was appointed as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the second Trump administration, posted this Japanese term on his X (formerly Twitter) without any explanation, drawing attention to its meaning and intent.

Elon Musk's Japanese 'Wabi-Sabi' post on his X account. Musk X

On the 21st, Musk's X account posted the Japanese word '侘び寂び' without any further explanation. Wabi-sabi is known as a Japanese aesthetic concept meaning "a quiet charm found in simplicity and rusticity." It is a philosophy that embraces imperfection or flaws and the natural changes that occur over time, while also emphasizing a preference for simplicity and modest beauty over complexity or excessive decoration. It is a term that expresses the beauty of empty space and minimalism.

There are various speculations about Musk’s intention in posting this, but some interpret it as a subtle expression of his philosophy regarding federal government restructuring as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Elon Musk Tesla CEO Reuters Yonhap News

On the 20th (local time), Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, introduced their plans for federal government restructuring in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). They criticized federal employees for wielding excessive power and announced plans to drastically reduce the number of government workers, while also eliminating excessive regulations and remote work.

CNN explained the remote work ban as "a plan to encourage many federal employees to voluntarily leave, allowing the new Trump administration to reduce the number of government workers and save the government budget."

Musk is well known in the industry as a boss who is negative toward remote work. After acquiring X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, he declared a ban on remote work in his first group email to employees and subsequently laid off 6,000 employees, which was 80% of the total workforce.

In May 2022, Musk also posted '侘寂' written only in kanji without hiragana, along with the phrase "the elusive beauty of imperfection."