President Donald Trump said Wednesday that federal employees who have failed to reply to Elon Musk’s email asking them to name five things they accomplished in the past week “are on the bubble.”

Musk, who said over the weekend that a lack of response from federal employees to the email would be taken as a resignation, addressed the email and his comments during the administration’s first official cabinet meeting.

When asked if those who have not yet responded are at risk of termination, Musk said, “We’re going to send another email.”

“Our goal is not to be capricious or unfair. We want to give people every opportunity to send an email, and the email could simply be ‘What I’m working on is too sensitive or classified to describe,'” he added, saying that example “would be sufficient.”

Musk said he wishes “to keep everyone who is doing a job that is essential and doing that job well.”

“I’d like to add that those million people that haven’t responded though, Elon, they are on the bubble. You know, I wouldn’t say that we’re thrilled about it, you know, they haven’t responded,” Trump said. “Now, maybe they don’t exist. Maybe we’re paying people that don’t exist.”

Musk had noted earlier he believes that some who are listed on the government payroll are dead and some others “are not real people.”

Trump speculated that some of the employees could have “other jobs” or perhaps “moved, and they’re not where they’re supposed to be.”

“A lot of things could have happened. I wouldn’t say that Biden ran a very tight administration,” he added.

Trump noted that the administration is “being a little more surgical” with certain agencies, such as the State Department.