Elon Musk has announced on X, the social network he owns, that he’s leaving the Donald Trump administration. Officially, his mandate as a special government employee is about to expire – but was the President annoyed with the billionaire anyway?
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” said Musk, who once only semi-jokingly appointed himself Trump’s “first buddy.”
“The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025
The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
DOGE is, of course, Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency,” which, according to a Reuters review, has managed to cut nearly 12%, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce – largely through threats of firings, buyouts, and early retirement offers.
The billionaire is still boasting whenever he can that he’s saved billions upon billions of federal dollars. But his political activities have drawn protests, and Tesla, Musk’s main business, is in trouble after global sales have slumped.
Tesla investors have also been signalling discontent, urging the billionaire in a letter – seen by CNN – to commit at least 40 hours a week to running the electric vehicle company and saying the firm now needs its owner’s undivided attention.
To be fair, Musk has already been telegraphing a pivot back to his businesses for months, saying that his sole focus will now once again be his tech empire. Musk owns Tesla, SpaceX, the AI company xAI, and X.
The billionaire is still boasting whenever he can that he’s saved billions upon billions of federal dollars. But his political activities have drawn protests, and Tesla, Musk’s main business, is in trouble after global sales have slumped.
Officially, Musk’s 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire on May 30th, so his departure seems orderly on the surface.
This week, however, the billionaire also gave several interviews and wrote extensively on social media, publicly signalling frustration with some of the administration’s plans, such as Trump’s marquee “big and beautiful” tax bill.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,” Musk said in the interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “[It] increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it. <...> I think a bill can be big or beautiful. I don’t know if it can be both.”
In recent months, Musk also clashed with White House trade advisor Peter Navarro and called him publicly a “moron” for dismissing the billionaire’s push for “zero tariffs” between the US and Europe.
Trump doesn’t like to see his minions fighting amongst themselves – who would? The White House has most probably decided that extending Musk’s mandate would mean further unnecessary tension within the administration.
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