Elon Musk delivered the ultimatum on Twitter yesterday (February 22).
As Elon Musk and President Donald Trump push to streamline the US Government, all federal employees should anticipate an email in their inbox that could lead to resignation if left unanswered.
Musk and Trump have moved quickly to enforce sweeping changes within the federal government.
The Tesla CEO has been officially designated as a ‘special government employee’ and is heading a task force at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
According to Trump, DOGE’s main mission is to ‘dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies’.
And on Saturday (February 22), Musk introduced an ultimatum for federal employees through an email.
Elon Musk has sent a mass email to all federal employees, demanding they account for their activities over the past working week (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images).
The directive in the email is straightforward—officials must outline what they have accomplished in the last week. If they fail to respond by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, it will be considered their resignation.
Posting on Twitter yesterday, Musk wrote: *”Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.
“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”*
So, what exactly did the email say? One recipient shared a screenshot of it online.
“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager,” it stated. *”Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments.
“Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pm EST.”*
According to the BBC, the email was sent shortly after Trump’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), with the subject line reading: “What did you do last week?”
Responding to this email would take less than 2 minutes for any truly productive person.
Why is this in any way controversial? pic.twitter.com/vm1Yig5bRi
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) February 22, 2025
Meanwhile, emails obtained by CNN revealed they were marked as highly important, though Musk’s reference to resignation for non-response was notably absent.
With Trump’s other sweeping workplace changes, this move has not been well received.
FBI Director Kash Patel advised employees to hold off on responding, stating via Sky News: *”The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses.
“For now, please pause any responses.”*
Federal court officials also urged employees not to respond, clarifying: “Please be advised that this email did not originate from the judiciary or the administrative office, and we suggest that no action be taken.”
Meanwhile, Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), condemned the directive as “cruel and disrespectful” toward federal workers. He further stated that the AFGE would “challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country.”