From Dogecoin To The Department Of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk's History With The 'Doge' Meme

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and the meme Doge have a long, storied history together. He's moved from owning lots of Dogecoin to literally heading President-elect Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over the last decade-plus.

Why's Musk seemingly so fascinated with this goofy dog? Well, he's definitely not alone.

Doge, the lovable Shiba Inu, is a contender for the "best meme ever," or at least, the most well-known. What started as a simple blog post from a Japanese woman nearly 15 years ago has become a full-fledged political influence and Musk is no doubt at the helm of this buzz.

So, where did Doge come from? What's a Dogecoin and how did the richest man in the world become so intertwined with this key piece of meme culture? Let's explain.

What Is 'Doge?'

On a fateful day in February 2010, Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato posted some photos of her dog Kabosu, a Shiba Inu, to her blog. The now-iconic photos were labeled "Doge" by meme creators later that year as they began to spread online.

The cute misspelling of "dog" matched perfectly with Kabosu's humorous expression. With a little bit of Comic Sans text, Doge became a viral animal on Tumblr, similar to Advice Animals before her.

Doge memes spread across social media in the following years, spawning numerous meme trends and variants.

What Is 'Dogecoin?'

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that uses the likeness of Doge. It started the trend of so-called "meme coins," which are other cryptocurrencies that rely on the popularity of a meme to drive stock price.

Dogecoin was created in 2013 by two men, Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, who wanted an alternative to Bitcoin. By 2014, they had held several fundraisers, including one that got a Dogecoin on a NASCAR vehicle.

Dogecoin peaked in 2018, reaching a market capitalization of over $1 billion in January. The coin's once unlikely rise and soaring popularity paved the way for future meme coins.

How Is Elon Musk Related To 'Dogecoin?'

Elon Musk was a semi-late adopter of Dogecoin, but his influence on the cryptocurrency's price has undoubtedly been the most impactful.

In early 2021, Dogecoin experienced a major boom jumpstarted by Musk tweeting about Doge, following the success of WallStreetBets' GameStop Short Squeeze.

In March of that year, coinciding with the whole "NFT craze," Elon Musk also dropped a song about NFTs that included a reference to Dogecoin and an animation featuring little golden Doges spinning around a trophy.

I’m selling this song about NFTs as an NFT pic.twitter.com/B4EZLlesPx

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2021

The price of the currency rapidly rose by over 900 percent in the following weeks, reaching an approximated $27 billion in April 2021. Some Dogecoin enthusiasts even wanted to rename 4/20 to Dogeday because of the coincidence.

Continuing into the 2020s, Musk continued to "pump the Doge" (so to speak), tweeting stuff like, "SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon," in April 2021, and, "I will keep supporting Dogecoin," in June 2022.

I will keep supporting Dogecoin

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2022

There was also the much-maligned Saturday Night Live episode with Elon Musk in May 2021, during which Dogecoin was referenced multiple times by Musk. While the appearance undoubtedly led to increased exposure of Dogecoin, it also saw the crypto plummet in value from 70 cents to 44 cents in the following days.

In June 2022, Elon Musk's association with Dogecoin over the years landed him in a bit of legal trouble after he was sued for $258 billion by a Dogecoin investor who accused him of inflating its price and running an alleged pyramid scheme. Coincidentally, the case was dismissed a few months ago and then the appeal was reportedly withdrawn just today.

How Has Elon Musk's Interest In 'Doge' Evolved?

In recent years, Elon Musk's recurring Doge-related antics have drifted further away from monetary gain. For instance, after he acquired Twitter (since rebranded to X), he briefly changed the bird logo to Doge.

Nobody knew what was going on. It seemed less like an easter egg and more like a dare —
as if somebody at Twitter HQ challenged him in the breakroom after he brought the sink in.

What's The 'Department Of Government Efficiency,' also known as 'DOGE?'

Former President Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election and his so-called First Buddy, Elon Musk, has been dubbed the head of his newly planned DOGE department, standing for the Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk will be heading the department along with fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and what the newly formed position will entail is anyone's guess for now.

Regardless of what happens with the Department of Government Efficiency, it's undoubtedly interesting that a humble internet meme has reached such a mainstream level, embodied by its indoctrination into U.S. law. Doge has affected the economy and influenced presidential elections, all starting from one woman's simple blog post.

For the full history of Doge, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.