A giant Elon Musk bust was spotted at a Utah national park with a sign calling out DOGE cuts

Business Insider

16 hours ago

A giant Elon Musk bust appeared at Arches National Park in Utah over the weekend.
The bust appeared aimed at DOGE-led cuts to the National Park Service.
A spokesperson for Arches National Park said there has not been an increase in lines this year.
A giant bust fit for a Big Tech museum appeared at Arches National Park in Utah over the weekend with a message aimed at the person it was molded after: Elon Musk.
The piece was on a trailer that was being pulled by a white pickup truck, according to photos shared with Business Insider. The bust was enclosed in a frame lined with blue stars and also carried a sign fashioned after President Donald Trump 's signature style.
Karen Henker, acting public affairs specialist for Arches National Park, confirmed to BI that the Musk bust was spotted in the park over the weekend.
Nancy Charmichael, who spotted the head and shared the photos with BI, said it was probably around 10 to 12 feet tall and had a "self-satisfied smirk."
Charmichael, who was visiting from Orlando, said she saw the bust a couple times while driving around the park and that she "appreciated it." She said she'd been concerned about recent cuts to the National Park Service.
"It's unfortunate," she said. "But we were just there, they're still beautiful."
It's unclear who was behind the piece, but it appeared to be in response to cuts made to the National Park Service that were fueled by the White House DOGE office. Musk was the face of government efficiency efforts before he stepped back from his White House work in May.
Musk and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
According to the National Parks Conservation Association, a park advocacy group, NPS has lost 24% of its permanent staff since January. "The park staff who remain are being asked to do more with less, and it's simply not sustainable," the group said in a statement this month.
The recently passed spending bill, aka the " Big Beautiful Bill," also cut $267 million of funding that had been committed for national parks, which advocates say were already underfunded and understaffed as park visitation reaches all-time highs.
Henker, the park spokesperson, said that "lines to get into Arches are very common and have been for years." Arches is among the national parks that have enacted a timed-entry reservation system, which limits how many visitors enter the park at certain times. Henker said there has not been an increase in lines at the park this year compared to prior years.
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