Sometimes I'm just slow on the uptake. Of course Musk et al are firing exceptionally talented workers, ones with experience, knowledge, and strong performance reviews. Those are the last people you want watching you rip the government to pieces. Musk&co are telling the truth when they say these workers are being fired for "performance" issues--their performance was too good. And their replacements, should there be any, will be losers you wouldn't want within 50 miles of anything more valuable than a bucketful of wet gravel.