Elon Musk Chief Nerd's Elaborate $1,000 Troll Scam
One of Elon Musk's geek army is trolling his new fans by charging $1,000 to check out a manifesto about why he signed up with DOGE - only to find the post is blank.
Gavin Kliger, 25, is among 6 baby-faced young boys with little-to-no federal 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 employees at USAID informing them not to come into the agency's Washington DC head office on Monday.
Kliger sent out the direction from a USAID email address he was supplied with as part of high-level access to its systems, in addition to fellow DOGE nerd Luke Farritor.
While the personnel were kept home, DOGE gained access to the company's IT system, constructing security, and classified materials, and started dismantling it.
Just hours before he sent the email, Kliger made a post on his Substack page entitled: 'Why DOGE. Why I quit a seven-figure salary to conserve America.'
Unlike the rest of his Substack, the post was 'customer just' with a $1,000-a-month cost - or $10,000 for an entire year - to access a single word of it.
However, those who wondered adequate to cough up the remarkable cost found there wasn't even that - the post was entirely blank.
Gavin Kliger, 25, is among 6 baby-faced young boys with little-to-no government experience handpicked by Elon Musk to plant havoc in the civil service
Kliger made a post on his Substack page titled: 'Why DOGE. Why I offered up a seven-figure wage to save America'. Despite a $1,000 paywall, it is entirely empty
'Poetically blank, please reevaluate your life choices,' one discuss the post read.
Kliger enhanced his elaborate trolling with a strange voicemail welcoming that pointed anyone who called his authorized phone number to the post.
'I simply composed a beautiful Substack on this, the Weekly Byte, if you just go there, it's behind the paywall, however I think it will address that concern for you ... it's pretty excellent,' he said.
The one-minute welcoming was an elongated version of the prank where the owner of the phone pretends to respond to, but it is actually tape-recorded.
Kliger initially 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 recorded message then made its pitch for the caller to read his Substack.
Despite its name, the Substack was not upgraded weekly, and just has two other posts - both of which are totally free to check out.
Despite its name, Kliger's Substack was not upgraded weekly, and only has 3 posts
Unlike the rest of his Substack, the post was 'customer only' with a $1,000-a-month fee - or $10,000 for an entire year - to access a single word of it
They are both strident defenses of Donald Trump's most questionable cabinet elections - Matt Gaetz 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 many other misconducts.
Kliger's post titled 'The Curious Case of Matt Gaetz: How the Deep State Destroys Its Enemies' represented 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 frequent Trump-ally talking points.
Hegseth was directly validated by the Senate despite his history of alcohol abuse and claims of sexual assault and harassment.
Kliger's claim that he left a 'seven-figure task' to join DOGE is likewise suspicious as his economic sector work history didn't include such a function.
His newest job, according to his LinkedIn, was as a 'senior historydb.date software application engineer' at Databricks, a cloud computing firm 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, consisting of bonus.
Kliger was the one who sent a company-wide email sent to staff members at them not to come into the company's Washington DC headquarters on Monday
The Berkeley graduate apparently advised all staff members at the firm 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 designated him a special adviser to the director for details innovation at the Office of Personnel Management, where numerous other Musk lackeys were set up.
The Tesla owner has actually essentially taken control of the OPM, genbecle.com along 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 implies developing software, investigating system implementation, or working in some other sphere, I understand that I will contribute insight and imagination towards fulfilling the obstacles I face.
'In my extra time, I take pleasure in playing the piano and clarinet and participating in music shows at Berkeley. One of my preferred pastimes is playing online blitz chess.'
Kliger's dad, chessdatabase.science Larry Kliger, is president of Lawrence Allen & Associates, opensourcebridge.science a commercial property firm.
Musk last month designated Kliger a special consultant to the director for details technology at the Office of Personnel Management, where many other Musk lackeys were set up
Who are Musk's other geeks?
Musk enlisted a troupe of boys aged 19 to 25 - three of whom are thought to still remain in college - to fill high-powered engineering functions and cut expenses.
At just 19, Edward Coristine is the youngest of the fresh-faced lot taking on corporate America and longstanding government organizations.
According to WIRED, he's been dubbed an 'expert' in his field, and specifics about his role aren't yet clear.
Akash Bobba, 21, Ethan Shaotran, 22, and Luke Farritor, 23, in addition to Coristine, have actually reportedly been approved A-suite level clearance for their work, meaning they can work out of the firm's top flooring with access to all physical areas and IT systems.
Musk's DOGE has been quickly growing in power and expanding its remit, most recently protecting clearance to access to restricted parts of the General Services Administration structures and IT systems.
These systems keep delicate information including social security numbers, addresses and contact details.
Elon Musk got a troupe of boys 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 called for his role with DOGE, which is apparently on a 'volunteer' basis at this stage.
After extensive criticism about the guys's youth, Musk launched a statement about the visits.
'Time to confess: Media reports stating that DOGE has some of world's finest software application engineers remain in truth true,' Musk composed on X.
Luke Farritor, 23
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk already, having actually interned for SpaceX prior to landing his brand-new gig.
Farritor, dropped out of the University of Nebraska in order to start working for Nat Friedman, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur behind GitHub.
Friedman explained Farritor as 'a nationwide treasure' after his consultation with DOGE was made public.
He won part of a $700,000 reward in 2024 after using AI innovation to assist analyze a 2,000 year old file - part of the Vesuvius scrolls from Pompeii - which scientists had actually been attempting, and failing, to resolve for centuries.
The charred scroll was thought charred beyond acknowledgment.
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk already, having actually interned for SpaceX prior to landing his brand-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 three months last summertime, after finishing high school.
Little is understood about Coristine's function at DOGE, nevertheless he is listed as an 'professional.'
WIRED mentioned sources declaring Coristine has actually been carrying out calls with staff in the department and making them 'review code they had actually composed and validate their jobs.'
Employees were apparently confused by his addition in the conferences, and later expressed concerns that they were not appropriately briefed on his identity or function, even during the call.
Coristine's dad, Charles, is the president of popcorn empire, LesserEvil. Coristine as soon as worked as a group member for the brand.
Up up until recently, Coristine reportedly utilized a social media handle called '@EdwardBigBaller.'
The youngest of Musk's elite squad 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 former LinkedIn account, which has because been erased, Bobba was a financial investment engineering intern at a hedge fund.
He had likewise previously interned for Meta and Palantir - who was founded by 2016 MAGA donor, Peter Thiel.
Just 6 years back, Bobba was the organizer behind the Princeton Junction, New Jersey, local design United Nations. His dad 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 simpleness 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 mind-blowing tidbits, perpetuates false information and at the same time divides the neighborhoods, households, and relationships we cherish.
'What's the service, 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 professionals. The start-up made a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023.
The 22-year-old said in September he was a senior at Harvard University, and was operating in the school's computing lab on autonomous vehicles.
Musk is notoriously attempting to develop self-driving cars 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 actually gotten involved in his xAI 'hackathon'. He and his team were runner ups after they used xAI's Grok to create plausible actions from X fans to a theoretical concern.
Shaortran founded Energize AI - a scheduling assistant for specialists. The start-up made a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023
Gautier Cole Killian, 24
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which concentrates on high-frequency financial trades and algorithms.
Now, he is reportedly working as a 'volunteer' with DOGE, although in what capability remains uncertain.
The 24-year-old finished McGill University.
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which focuses on high-frequency monetary trades and algorithms
Welcome to MAGALAND: Insider Trump's Second 100 Days - The podcast bringing you the latest 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 contract.
'It became evident 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 have actually got to basically get rid of the entire thing. It's beyond repair.'
Musk just recently hinted he was likewise the mastermind behind Trump's choice to purge federal employees by posting a symbolic photo on X harkening back to his notorious Twitter clean.
At the time, he sent out a letter to personnel entitled: '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 art work of an enormous fork standing in the roadway, indicating it was all connected.
Musk does not hold elected workplace, however on Monday was officially selected a 'unique civil servant' by the White House.
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