Apple Co-founder, Steve Wozniak, has recently criticised entrepreneur Elon Musk — for his work as a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as the man charged with cutting costs in the federal government of the United States of America (USA).

“I don’t know what got into his head,” Wozniak said in a recent interview with CNBC, speaking about Musk’s activities heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Money Control reports.

“Sometimes you get so rich at these big companies, when you’re on top, it goes to your head, and you’re the most credible person in the world, you’re the brightest, and you’re gonna dictate what others will do,” Wozniak said.

Musk has established a reputation for disrupting industries such as electric automobiles, rockets, and even social media. However, as the government's efficiency expert, Wozniak believes his approach is based on force rather than subtlety.

“Bullying is the best way to think of it,” he said.

Musk's cost-cutting tactics have sparked controversy. Critics, including government employees and legal experts, claim he is making cuts without fully grasping what is at stake.

According to reports, some of the so-called savings stem from expired contracts or jobs that have to be renewed. The government has even reversed some of the layoffs, rehiring staff from the CDC, FDA, and even the agency responsible for nuclear safety.

"These mass firings — not good for a business to run that way," Wozniak told the audience.

He compared it to when Musk took over X (previously Twitter), when he sacked the majority of the employees only to discover later that some were truly essential and had to be rehired.

However, Wozniak is opposed to increasing efficiency. He truly agrees that government spending should be reduced where possible — but he believes that there is a better way to do it.

“It should be done, I guess, more surgically, with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer,” he said.