Elon Musk flashes fake badge declaring himself 'The Dogefather' but trolls label him 'The Cringefather'

WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk raised eyebrows as he flashed a novelty police-style badge declaring himself “The Dogefather.”

The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO showed off his latest prop in a late-night post, holding the fake badge up for the world to see.

“Knock knock… it’s @DOGE,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter) alongside a photo of the badge.

A fake badge with some real Elon Musk energy

The badge, which probably costs around $100, features all the usual Elon Musk-isms — the nickname “Dogefather” and the numbers “69420." For those who need reminding, 69 is Musk’s go-to bedroom joke, and 420 has long been his favorite nod to cannabis culture, the Daily Beast reported.

On top of that, the badge sports the Department of Justice seal and the Latin motto “Qui pro domina justitia sequitur” (translation: “Who prosecutes on behalf of justice?”). A curious touch, considering Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has no real legal authority to prosecute.

Meanwhile, the “Dogefather” moniker isn’t new and dates back to Musk’s 2021 turn hosting 'Saturday Night Live'. It joins a long list of self-appointed titles like “Kekius Maximus,” another reference pulled from 4chan meme lore. Musk once told the crowd at CPAC during a wild February interview that he’s on a mission to “become meme” — and he seems committed to it.

That said, the timing of the badge drop comes as Musk pulls back from his more public government role. After Tesla’s profits took a 71 percent hit in the first quarter of this year, the mogul told investors he would be dialing down his time at DOGE to focus on his electric vehicle empire.

“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla, now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” Musk said on a Tesla earnings call. He added that he’ll still lend support to DOGE “for as long as the President would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful.”

According to The Verge, Musk also mentioned he’d continue to spend “a day or two” each week on DOGE duties for the foreseeable future.

Musk faces backlash inside and out

While Musk might be laughing, not everyone in Washington is. His badge stunt sparked immediate backlash online.

"DOGE has no law enforcement capabilities. Why the badge like that?" one asked on X.

"Well this is all kinds of illegal," a second user alleged.

"Someone has been to the state fair and popped some balloons with darts I see," another quipped.

"The Cringefather," a comment read.

"Temu quality. Even the badges are made in China. These tariffs better work," someone else chimed in.

"Can’t believe they would sully the honor it is to earn a badge for your uniform. Just so mr.muck can cosplay as a hero. Disgraceful and in bad taste. What a joke," another fumed.

And it’s not just random social media users doing the eye-rolling. Some inside the White House aren’t exactly Musk’s biggest fans either.

“I have been in the same room with Elon, and he always tries to be funny. And he’s not funny. Like, at all,” one insider allegedly told Rolling Stone. “He’s just the most irritating person I’ve ever had to deal with, and that is saying something," another added.

Staffers have reportedly nicknamed him “Crazy Uncle Elon.”

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