The Scream Test: Elon Musk’s Tech Bro Strategy in Government

It has been a few years since I left Silicon Valley, but much that I learned there has never left me. For instance, I recognize what Elon Musk is doing as a familiar tech bro technique. Something known as the “scream test” has emerged as a defining — and divisive — element of Musk’s leadership playbook. Originally a technical term for assessing the necessity of systems or processes, the scream test has evolved under Musk into a multifaceted strategy for cutting bureaucracy, testing employee resilience, and driving rapid organizational change. It ain’t pretty, but sometimes it works.

Origins of the Scream Test

The scream test, as defined in software development and systems management, involves removing a service, feature, or capability and waiting for user complaints (“screams”) to determine its necessity3. If stakeholders protest, the feature is reinstated; if not, it is discarded. This method is particularly useful in environments with legacy systems, like the federal government.

But if you use it without backups, you get the results we are getting now, where the wrong people are fired and can’t even be found in the system to be rehired.

Musk’s Adaptation: The Scream Test as a Leadership Tool

Musk has also repurposed the scream test beyond its technical roots, integrating it into his management philosophy to eliminate inefficiencies, challenge institutional inertia, and…