The Internal Revenue Service launched a pilot program last year that allows people to file their taxes directly with the federal government for free. This project is known as Direct File and has since expanded to 25 states.

This year, however, taxpayers have more options than ever to avoid that expense.   Or . . . maybe not. The most noteworthy new program for free tax-prep, IRS Direct File, came under fire this week from Elon Musk,

Billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media site that he had “deleted” 18F, an agency that worked on the IRS’ Direct File program.