Elon Musk Chief Nerd's Elaborate $1,000 Troll Scam
Among Elon Musk's geek army is trolling his new fans by charging $1,000 to check out a manifesto about why he joined DOGE - only to find the post is blank.
Gavin Kliger, 25, is among 6 baby-faced boys with little-to-no government experience handpicked by the 'First Buddy' to sow havoc in the civil service.
He was the one who sent a company-wide email sent out to staff members at USAID telling them not to come into the agency's Washington DC headquarters on Monday.
Kliger sent the direction from a USAID email address he was provided with as part of high-level access to its systems, along with fellow DOGE nerd Luke Farritor.
While the staff were kept home, DOGE gained access to the firm's IT system, building security, and classified products, and began dismantling it.
Just hours before he sent out the email, Kliger made a post on his Substack page titled: 'Why DOGE. Why I quit a seven-figure wage to save America.'
Unlike the rest of his Substack, the post was 'customer only' with a $1,000-a-month cost - or $10,000 for an entire year - to access a single word of it.
However, those who were curious adequate to spend the extraordinary charge discovered there wasn't even that - the post was completely blank.
Gavin Kliger, 25, is one of six baby-faced boys with little-to-no federal government experience handpicked by Elon Musk to sow havoc in the civil service
Kliger made a post on his Substack page titled: 'Why DOGE. Why I provided up a seven-figure wage to save America'. Despite a $1,000 paywall, it is totally empty
'Poetically blank, please reevaluate your life options,' one talk about the post read.
Kliger furthered his elaborate trolling with an unusual voicemail welcoming that pointed anybody who called his registered contact number to the post.
'I just composed a lovely Substack on this, the Weekly Byte, if you just go there, it lags the paywall, but I think it will address that concern for you ... it's respectable,' he said.
The one-minute welcoming was an elongated version of the prank where the owner of the phone pretends to respond to, however it is in fact recorded.
Kliger first pretended he was driving through a tunnel and having difficulty hearing the call, then eventually exclaiming, 'They said what? No, no, I don't think that's right.'
The taped message then made its pitch for the caller to read his Substack.
Despite its name, the Substack was not updated weekly, and just has 2 other posts - both of which are totally free to check out.
Despite its name, Kliger's Substack was not updated weekly, and only has 3 posts
Unlike the rest of his Substack, the post was 'customer only' with a $1,000-a-month charge - or $10,000 for a whole year - to access a single word of it
They are both strident defenses of Donald Trump's most questionable cabinet nominations - and Pete Hegseth.
Gaetz was chosen for attorney-general however withdrew after a damning House report found he paid for sex with 17-year-old girl and numerous other misbehaviors.
Kliger's post entitled 'The Curious Case of Matt Gaetz: How the Deep State Destroys Its Enemies' portrayed Gaetz as an innocent victim who was 'framed'.
His other post, 'Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense: The Warrior Washington Fears', was an enthusiastic defense of the former Fox News host's nomination filled with regular Trump-ally talking points.
Hegseth was narrowly verified by the Senate regardless of his history of alcoholic abuse and claims of sexual attack and harassment.
Kliger's claim that he left a 'seven-figure job' to join DOGE is also suspicious as his economic sector work history didn't include such a function.
His most current job, according to his LinkedIn, was as a 'senior software application engineer' at Databricks, a cloud computing company in San Francisco, from May 2020 to last month.
Salaries for that position at Databricks vary from $102,000 to $308,000 a year according to Certainly, while Glassdoor puts the top end at $321,000, including bonus offer.
Kliger was the one who sent a company-wide email sent to staff members at USAID telling them not to come into the agency's Washington DC headquarters on Monday
The Berkeley graduate apparently advised all employees at the agency not to go back to Washington head office on Monday
Kliger finished from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2020 and interned at Twitter in 2019 - well before Musk's takeover in 2022.
Musk last month selected him an unique adviser to the director for details innovation at the Office of Personnel Management, where various other Musk lackeys were installed.
The Tesla owner has actually basically taken control of the OPM, together with the General Services Administration, through his management of DOGE.
Kliger's now-deleted Github from his time at Berkeley claims he is an Eagle Scout, National Merit Scholar, National AP Scholar, a black belt very first dan in Taekwondo, and an accomplished pianist.
'I wish to do work that will influence the future,' it checked out.
'Whether that suggests establishing software application, looking into system deployment, or working in some other sphere, I understand that I will contribute insight and creativity towards satisfying the difficulties I face.
'In my extra time, I enjoy playing the piano and clarinet and going to music shows at Berkeley. One of my favorite pastimes is playing online blitz chess.'
Kliger's dad, Larry Kliger, is president of Lawrence Allen & Associates, an industrial realty firm.
Musk last month selected Kliger a special advisor to the director for details technology at the Office of Personnel Management, where various other Musk lackeys were installed
Who are Musk's other nerds?
Musk employed a performers of young guys aged 19 to 25 - 3 of whom are thought to still remain in college - to fill high-powered engineering roles and cut expenses.
At simply 19, Edward Coristine is the youngest of the fresh-faced lot handling corporate America and longstanding government organizations.
According to WIRED, he's been called an 'professional' in his field, and specifics about his role aren't yet clear.
Akash Bobba, 21, Ethan Shaotran, 22, and Luke Farritor, 23, together with Coristine, have apparently been given A-suite level clearance for their work, indicating they can work out of the firm's leading flooring with access to all physical areas and IT systems.
Musk's DOGE has been rapidly growing in power and expanding its remit, most just recently securing clearance to access to limited parts of the General Services Administration structures and IT systems.
These systems keep sensitive data consisting of social security numbers, addresses and contact details.
Elon Musk employed a troupe of young men aged 19 to 25 - 3 of whom are thought to still remain in college - to fill high-powered engineering functions and cut costs
Finally, Gautier Cole Killian has actually been named for his function with DOGE, which is reportedly on a 'volunteer' basis at this phase.
After prevalent criticism about the males's youth, Musk launched a declaration about the consultations.
'Time to confess: Media reports saying that DOGE has a few of world's best software engineers remain in reality true,' Musk composed on X.
Luke Farritor, 23
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk currently, having actually interned for SpaceX prior to landing his brand-new gig.
Farritor, left of the University of Nebraska in order to start working for Nat Friedman, the Silicon Valley business owner behind GitHub.
Friedman explained Farritor as 'a nationwide treasure' after his appointment with DOGE was revealed.
He won part of a $700,000 prize in 2024 after utilizing AI innovation to assist figure out a 2,000 year old document - part of the Vesuvius scrolls from Pompeii - which researchers had actually been attempting, and failing, to resolve for centuries.
The charred scroll was thought scorched beyond acknowledgment.
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk currently, having interned for SpaceX prior pipewiki.org to landing his new gig
Edward Coristine, 19
The youngest of Musk's elite squad is simply 19 and a trainee at Northeastern University in Boston.
Coristine reportedly interned at Musk's Neuralink for 3 months last summer season, after graduating high school.
Little is learnt about Coristine's function at DOGE, nevertheless he is listed as an 'expert.'
WIRED cited sources alleging Coristine has been carrying out calls with staff in the department and making them 'discuss code they had written and validate their tasks.'
Employees were apparently puzzled by his addition in the conferences, and later expressed concerns that they were not properly briefed on his identity or role, even throughout the call.
Coristine's father, Charles, is the president of popcorn empire, LesserEvil. Coristine as soon as worked as a team member for the brand.
Up up until recently, Coristine apparently utilized a social media manage named '@EdwardBigBaller.'
The youngest of Musk's elite team is simply 19 and a trainee at Northeastern University in Boston
Akash Bobba, 21
Bobba is another 'specialist' within the department still studying at the University of California, Berkeley.
According to a previous LinkedIn account, which has actually given that been deleted, Bobba was an investment engineering intern at a hedge fund.
He had actually also formerly interned for Meta and Palantir - who was founded by 2016 MAGA donor, Peter Thiel.
Just 6 years ago, Bobba was the organizer behind the Princeton Junction, New Jersey, regional design United Nations. His daddy is an academic in computer technology.
Bobba spoke at his graduation event from West Windsor-Plainsboro South High School in July 2021, informing his schoolmates to 'appreciate the complexity in life'.
" We reside in an age where simplicity reigns supreme, where 30-second TikToks and 280-character tweets pertain to define our identities,' he said.
'This increasing willingness to streamline even the most complicated narratives into astonishing tidbits, perpetuates false information and at the same time divides the communities, families, and relationships we value.
'What's the solution, you might ask? Seek pain.'
Bobba is another 'professional' within the department still studying at the University of California, Berkeley
Ethan Shaotran, 22
Shaortran established Energize AI - a scheduling assistant for specialists. The start-up earned a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023.
The 22-year-old said in September he was a senior at Harvard University, and was working in the school's computing laboratory on autonomous automobiles.
Musk is famously attempting to establish self-driving vehicles at his Tesla head office.
Shaortran is part of the Harvard Mountaineering Club and worked as a scuba divemaster in Hawaii over a gap year.
He likewise has a link to Musk, having taken part in his xAI 'hackathon'. He and his team were runner ups after they utilized xAI's Grok to create possible actions from X followers to a hypothetical question.
Shaortran founded Energize AI - a scheduling assistant for specialists. The start-up earned a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023
Gautier Cole Killian, 24
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which specializes in high-frequency financial trades and algorithms.
Now, he is supposedly working as a 'volunteer' with DOGE, although in what capability remains uncertain.
The 24-year-old graduated McGill University.
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which specializes in high-frequency monetary trades and algorithms
Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the most current news and chatter from the White House. Listen here.
Musk's DOGE boasts sweeping power
Musk is leading an amazing civilian review of the federal government with Trump's agreement.
'It emerged that it's not an apple with a worm it in,' Musk said in a live session on X Spaces early Monday.
'What we have is just a ball of worms. You've got to essentially get rid of the whole thing. It's beyond repair.'
Musk just recently hinted he was likewise the mastermind behind Trump's decision to purge federal staff members by publishing a symbolic image on X harkening back to his notorious Twitter cleanse.
At the time, he sent a letter to personnel titled: 'A Fork in the Road.' The same title was used in Trump's current email proposing generous lay-off bundles
Musk later shared on X that he commissioned an artwork of an enormous fork standing in the road, showing it was all connected.
Musk does not hold elected workplace, but on Monday was formally selected a 'special federal government employee' by the White House.
NOW LISTEN: Welcome to MAGALAND is our new podcast - where White House experts expose whats actually going on behind the scenes in the new Trump administration. Listen on Apple and Spotify now.
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