Musk wears ‘Gulf Of America’, DOGE hats during White House meeting with Trump, jokes ‘even my hat has a hat’

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has doubled down on important matters like head-wear at a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday, sporting two caps in a move that drew laughter and praise from US President Donald Trump.

The billionaire DOGE chief turned heads by layering a red “Gulf of America” hat over a black “DOGE” cap, becoming the only attendee to wear the promotional gear placed on the Cabinet Room table.

“Elon, I love the double hat,” Mr Trump told Mr Musk.

“He’s the only one that can do that and get away with it,” the President joked.

“Well, Mr President, you know they say I wear a lot of hats! It’s true, even my hat has a hat,” Mr Musk replied.

The Tesla CEO has recently scaled back his White House presence as he transitions out of leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to slash federal spending and staffing. However, he attended the two-hour meeting to discuss progress.

“The American people voted for secure borders, safe cities and sensible spending. And that’s what they’ve gotten. A tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days,” Mr Musk said.

“I think this could be the greatest administration since the founding of the country.”

Mr Trump applauded Mr Musk’s contributions: “We all want to thank you for your help, Elon. You really have sacrificed a lot and have been treated very unfairly.”

“They do like to burn my cars, which is not great,” Mr Musk responded, referencing recent vandalism targeting Tesla electric vehicles.

Mr Trump added that he thinks “the vast majority of people really respect and appreciate you. You’ve opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done.”

DOGE has trimmed $160 billion in annual spending so far, short of its $1 trillion goal. Mr Trump hinted at future cuts by saying “A lot of stuff is being worked on. That number could be doubled and even tripled. A lot of things are being worked on that don’t count yet because it’s not quite there.”

Mr Musk, who serves unpaid as a temporary government employee, will transition to an informal advisory role around May 30.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told The New York Post that while Musk’s in-person appearances have dwindled, his influence remains: “He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”

After images of him wearing two hats made headlines, Mr Musk then shared an image to his social media site X, claiming he’s “been wearing many hats for a long time”.