Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old software engineer known online as “Big Balls”, is in the spotlight. The reason? His resignation from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as “DOGE.” The news was confirmed by a spokesperson from the White House during a conversation with American magazine WIRED.
Coristine’s email account registered with the government organisation was deactivated on Tuesday, followed by the removal of his name from an internal contact list of DOGE employees at the White House.
It was on May 31, 2025, that Edward Coristine was formally appointed as a Senior Advisor at the GS-15 pay grade within the General Services Administration (GSA). During his tenure at the company, he marked his presence in several high-level meetings. These include sessions with the Commerce Department about Donald Trump’s “golden visa” program. On May 22, he also attended a Treasury meeting.
Notably, the 19-year-old’s resignation comes a month after tech billionaire Elon Musk exited his position as DOGE Chief, as reported by Reuters.
Who Is Big Balls
Edward Coristine was born in December 2005 and graduated from high school before joining the tech world. For a brief stint, he also worked at Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-interface company and LesserEvil. The latter is a snack business run by his father. Edward is also the founder of Tesla.Sexy LLC, which manages web domains with two of them registered in Russia. In a remarkable feat, he founded the company when he was just 16.
Controversies
Edward Coristine has hogged the limelight numerous times in the past. According to CNN, he was sacked from cybersecurity firm Path Network in 2022. The 19-year-old was accused of a privacy breach and leaking important information.
Another reason that made him a subject of his discussion was his maternal grandfather, Valery Martynov’s, association with the KGB. Valrey was reportedly a former KGB officer, executed by the Soviet Union for working as a double agent – a fact that faced scrutiny given Coristine’s access to secure government systems.
How Did Nickname ‘Big Ball’ Happen
It all began as a joke when one of Coristine’s high school friends wrote a note for him, and eventually became his online identity. He soon began using it even on LinkedIn. The unique name caught Elon Musk’s attention, earning him an opportunity to work with DOGE.
The nickname gained widespread national attention after a Fox News segment where host Jesse Watters questioned, “Who is Big Balls?”, prompting Coristine to respond, “I am,” leaving everyone in splits.