In a new X post on Thursday that doubled as a job announcement and another one of Musk's trolling attempts, the account for the newly formed Doge wrote: "We don't need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting."

The name of the department, which is not part of the federal government, harkens back to a meme of an expressive shiba inu dog.

"If that's you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants," the statement added.

In a separate post, Musk chimed in on the callout, saying: "Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies & compensation is zero."

"What a great deal!" Musk, the richest man in the world, wrote with a laughing emoji. He has promised to reduce federal bureaucracy by a third and cut $2tn from US government spending, an endeavor he said "necessarily involves some temporary hardship".