Joe Gebbia, co-founder and former chief product officer of Airbnb, has officially joined Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). On Thursday, Gebbia confirmed his involvement, stating he would apply his design expertise and startup mindset to modernizing federal government processes.
“Excited to share I’m bringing my designer brain and startup spirit into the government,” Gebbia wrote in an X post on Thursday.
His first project at DOGE will be to digitize the outdated retirement process for federal employees, an issue that Musk has criticized for being slow, paper-based, and reliant on manual calculations.
Gebbia’s First Mission: Fixing the Federal Retirement System
Why Is the Retirement Process a Problem?
- Federal employee retirements are still processed using paper records.
- Musk has called it “one of the most archaic government systems”.
- Retirement paperwork is stored in an old limestone mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania, where records have been kept since the 1960s.
Musk on the Retirement System:
“Well, because all the retirement paperwork is manual, on paper. It’s manually calculated then written down on a piece of paper, then it goes down a mine.”
Gebbia’s Plan to Modernize Retirement Processing
- Transition from paper-based records to a digital system.
- Improve efficiency and user experience for federal retirees.
- Support ongoing government digitization efforts.
Gebbia shared a video from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) showing the agency processing a retirement application digitally for the first time. The application was completed in one week, compared to the 64-day manual process.
Gebbia’s Relationship with Musk & DOGE
Why Was Gebbia Recruited?
- Strong ties to Musk – He has been a Tesla board member since 2022.
- Product design expertise – As a co-founder of Airbnb, Gebbia has a background in building user-friendly digital platforms.
- Interest in government modernization – He has been looking for his next major digital transformation project.
Gebbia on His Role at DOGE:
“Since leaving my operating role at Airbnb in 2022, I’ve been looking for the next digital design challenge. And I can think of few more important ones than volunteering to improve the user experience within our government.”
Musk Welcomed Gebbia’s Involvement:
- Musk responded to Gebbia’s announcement post with a simple: “Thanks!”
- The White House previously confirmed that Musk serves as a special government employee at DOGE but is not paid.
- It is unclear whether Gebbia will receive compensation for his work at DOGE.
Political Shift: Gebbia’s Support for Trump
Gebbia’s Political Stance:
- Previously voted Democrat his entire life.
- Announced support for Trump in a January 19 X post.
- Criticized the Democratic Party, saying:
“They aren’t the same party they used to be. Like your fashion sense, they’ve lost their way. Hopefully, they’ll make an effort to win people like me back.”
His shift aligns with Musk’s own political transformation, as Musk has increasingly aligned himself with conservative policies and figures.
