Elon Musk says the budget-cutting effort he is leading with Vivek Ramaswamy is unlikely to find $2 trillion in federal savings through the Department of Government Efficiency he has been tasked with leading.

In an interview broadcast Wednesday on his social media platform X, Musk told political strategist Mark Penn the $2 trillion figure originally stated as the goal of DOGE was a “best-case outcome” and that they had a better shot at half that figure.

“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion, I think that’s like the best-case outcome,” Musk said. “If we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting $1 (trillion).

“And if we drop the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and kind of free up the economy to have additional growth, such that the output of goods and services keeps pace with the increase in the money supply, there will be no inflation. That, I think, would be an epic outcome.”

DOGE was announced shortly after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November. Republicans seek to cut down on government spending as they take control over the White House and Congress.

Trump and Musk have said DOGE would find $2 trillion in spending cuts, a task budget experts have said is impossible without touching entitlement benefits like Social Security and Medicare and a $1.7 trillion discretionary budget.

Lawmakers, Musk and Ramaswamy have not said exactly what programs could be targeted for cuts yet but have frequently indicated there’s plenty of options for the chopping block.

In the interview, Musk said the government is a “target-rich environment for saving money.”

“If you look at any direction — people are like, ‘Where will you find places to save money?’ It’s like being in a room full of targets,” he said. “You can close your eyes, and you can’t miss.”