When President-elect Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy would recommend major cuts to the federal government in his administration, many government employees knew that their jobs could be on the line. Now they have another fear: becoming the personal targets of the planet’s richest man – and his multitudes of followers.

Last week, amidst the flurry of his daily missives, Musk reposted two X posts that disclosed the names and titles of people holding four rather obscure climate-related government positions. Each post has been viewed tens of millions of times, and the persons named have been subjected to a volley of negative attention. At least one of the four women named has closed her social media accounts.

While the information he posted on those government positions is accessible through public online databases, these posts target otherwise unknown government personnel in roles that do not deal directly with the public.

Several existing federal employees told CNN they’re fearful their lives will be forever changed – including physically threatened – as Elon Musk makes behind-the-scenes bureaucrats into personal targets. Others told CNN that the threat of being in Musk’s crosshairs might in fact drive them from their jobs entirely – accomplishing Musk’s smaller government goals without so much as a proper review.

“These tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees,” said Everett Kelley (president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 800,000 of the 2.3 million civilian federal employees). “It’s intended to make them fearful that they will become afraid to speak up.”

This isn’t new behaviour for Elon Musk, who has often singled out persons who he claims have made mistakes or stand in his way. One former federal employee, earlier targeted by Musk, said she experienced something very similar.

“It’s his way of intimidating people to either quit or also send a signal to all the other agencies that ‘you’re next’,” said Mary “Missy” Cummings (an engineering and computer science professor at George Mason University), who attracted Musk’s ire because of her criticisms of Tesla when she was at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Going dark after attacks

Last week Musk reposted an account with the name “Datahazard and the handle Fentasyl,” which describes itself as “Unincorporated Think Tank ~~ Focus: Govt Efficiency, Civil Rights, Victim Advocacy.” One of the posts reads: “I don’t think the US taxpayers should pay for the employment of a ’Director of Climate Diversification (she/her)’ at the US International Development Finance Corporation,” with a incomplete screengrab of an employee and her location.

Musk, who termed himself “super pro climate” in an X post last year, reposted and commented: “So many fake jobs.” The post has garnered over 33 million views and a storm of negative comments. Some termed the role a “fraud job” and others demanded Musk’s DOGE cut jobs like it. One user remarked: “Gravy train is over.”

It seems the woman Musk targeted has since gone dark on social media, shutting down her accounts. The agency, DFC (the US International Development Finance Corporation), says it backs investment in climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation in low-income nations experiencing the most distressing effects of climate change. Musk also targeted the Department of Energy’s chief climate officer in its loan programs office. Another woman, who works as senior advisor on environmental justice and climate change at the Department of Health and Human Services, was also called out by Musk. A senior adviser to climate at the Department of Housing and Urban Development was also targeted.