Elon Musk Targets The Penny: The Case For Saving Millions By Scrapping Cents

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Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set its sights on an unconventional but significant target for cost-cutting: the U.S. penny.

In a post on X, DOGE revealed that producing the penny costs taxpayers over $179 million annually, with each penny requiring more than 3 cents to manufacture. “The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, accounting for nearly 40% of the 11.4 billion coins made for circulation,” the post stated.

According to the U.S. Mint, the penny's production cost rose to about 3.7 cents in fiscal year 2024—a 20% increase from the previous year, driven by rising prices of zinc and copper. The Mint circulated around 4.1 billion pennies in 2023, highlighting the scale of this growing expense.

An Old Debate Gains New Momentum

Musk’s proposal isn’t groundbreaking. For decades, advocates have pushed for abolishing the penny, arguing that it’s rarely used as currency. The trend toward cashless transactions, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has only made physical coins less relevant.

Pop culture has also weighed in on the debate. In a 2001 episode of The West Wing, Sam Seaborn, a fictional character, lamented the coin’s pointlessness: “Most pennies don’t circulate. They end up in jars and sock drawers.” More recently, a 2022 New York Times Magazine article called the penny “a symbol of deeper rot” in government inefficiency, highlighting how obvious its elimination has been for years without any action.

Productivity Gains for Businesses

Beyond cost savings, scrapping the penny could have operational benefits. Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at the National Association of Convenience Stores, noted that eliminating pennies could save time at checkout counters.

“With 52 million in-person cash transactions occurring daily at convenience stores, saving even 2 seconds per transaction adds up to 104 million seconds—or 1,203 days,” Lenard explained. “And that doesn’t even account for the ripple effect of shorter lines and faster service.”

Musk’s Expanding Role in Government

This initiative comes as Musk takes on a high-profile role in the Trump administration, following President Donald Trump’s recent executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency. Initially set to co-lead the department with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk has now taken sole control, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Whether Musk’s push to retire the penny will gain traction remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: even the smallest changes can add up to significant savings.

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