The Apple co-founder believes that while government inefficiencies should be addressed, they deserve a careful, systematic approach rather than Musk’s slash-and-burn strategy.
Wozniak criticised mass firings at crucial agencies—like those safeguarding nuclear programs and overseeing air traffic control—as a recipe for chaos, arguing that chopping jobs without meticulous scrutiny shows little respect for the importance of these roles.
Long heralded as a chill counterbalance to loudmouthed tech moguls, Wozniak openly lamented that a man once renowned for innovation and starry-eyed futuristic thinking now seems consumed by a relentless quest for power.
He accused Musk of letting wealth and success go to his head, turning him into a domineering figure who demands unwavering devotion from followers.
Just mass firings…it’s not good for a business to run that way,” Wozniak said. “It’s really to find out what works and what doesn’t, make the changes.”
Woz couldn’t shed much of a positive light on Musk or his general view of the world. “Elon Musk, I don’t know what got into his head,” he said.
“Sometimes you get so rich at these big companies, and you’re on top it goes to your head, and you’re the most incredible person in the world and the brightest and you’re going to dictate what others will do.”
Wozniak said that regarding how Musk and Trump have approached governing, “Bullying is the best way to think of it.”
The Apple icon took his concerns further by comparing Musk to a cult leader, asserting that he craves unquestioning obedience—a stark shift from the early hype around Tesla and its CEO.
This is a little odd because we would have thought the fruity cargo cult that Steve Job’s founded with Woz was the same thing.
Wozniak’s unease extends to Trump, whom he lumped together with Musk as a bullying champion. The outspoken inventor believes both men share a knack for tearing down what they dislike with little concern for consequences or collateral damage.
That stance has led Woz to warn once again that hasty approaches to dismantling government structures, rather than surgical ones, risk crippling the backbone that keeps vital systems running.
This is not the first time that Woz has waded into Musk. In 2023 he said Musk and Tesla "robbed" his family of money over false claims about the EV company's self-driving technology.
"A lot of honesty disappears when you look at Elon Musk and Tesla," he said.
Wozniak was referring to the Tesla vehicle he upgraded in 2016---when Tesla first offered Full Self-Driving (FSD) in beta---after Musk said the car would be able to drive itself across the country by end of that year.
Wozniak and his wife then spent $50,000 on another vehicle upgrade with eight cameras and more sensors, which the CEO said would allow it to drive coast to coast without driver intervention by the end of 2017. But Woz says the car's self-driving abilities are still far from what Musk promised.
"It makes mistakes all the time," Woz said. "It's a horrible, frightening experience."
"Steve Jobs wasn't so dishonest. But he would say things in ways [...] he just had a way of grabbing you," Wozniak said. "But it wasn't that untruthful. You didn't buy something thinking you would get 'A' but didn't get it."
