The Blubber

Elon Musk, in his new role as an advisor to President Donald Trump, may be targeting the elimination of the penny, according to a recent post from his advisory board on X.

Trump appointed Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla, X, and SpaceX, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a small advisory board rather than a formal federal agency. DOGE’s mission is to identify ways to make the government more efficient and cost-effective.

On Tuesday, DOGE posted on X highlighting that the U.S. spends approximately 3 cents to mint a single penny, which is worth only 1 cent.

"The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost U.S. taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023," DOGE wrote. "The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, which accounted for roughly 40% of the 11.4 billion coins minted for circulation."

Criticism of the penny’s continued use isn’t new, nor is the fact that producing the coin costs more than its value. In 2016, the cost of minting a penny was approximately 1.5 cents, and then-Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew proposed eliminating it. However, the cost has risen further, largely due to the price of zinc—the main material in pennies—which has doubled since 2016, as reported by CBS News.

Advocates for eliminating the penny have suggested rounding transactions to the nearest 5 cents to compensate, though a 2020 blog post from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond noted that rounding could significantly impact the cost of inexpensive items.

The penny isn’t the only coin costing more to produce than its face value. According to the U.S. Mint’s 2024 report, every nickel costs about 14 cents to make. While DOGE has yet to comment on the future of nickels, eliminating the penny would mark a symbolic start to Musk’s efforts.

Musk has pledged that DOGE will reduce $500 billion in annual federal spending, though cutting penny production alone won’t make much of a dent. Trump has said the advisory board aims to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.”

Critics, however, argue that these promises amount to doing less with fewer rules, fewer people, and fewer resources. For now, it remains to be seen whether Musk’s DOGE will take on Thomas Jefferson’s nickel after it deals with Abraham Lincoln’s penny.