WASHINGTON: Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration after a tumultuous period working to restructure the federal government, a White House official confirmed.
A White House official told Reuters it was accurate Musk is leaving the administration and his “off-boarding will begin tonight.”
Musk on Wednesday thanked U.S. President Donald Trump as his time as a special government employee as a part of the Department of Government Efficiency draws to an end, he said in a post on social media platform X.
Musk’s 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire around May 30. The administration has said DOGE’s efforts to restructure and shrink the federal government will continue.
“The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,“ Musk said.
Trump and DOGE have 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, a Reuters review of agency departures found.
Musk on Tuesday criticized the price tag of Republicans’ tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,“ Musk told CBS News.
Musk’s political activities have drawn protests and some investors have called for Musk to leave his work as Trump’s adviser and manage Tesla more closely.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has defended his role as an unelected official who was granted unprecedented authority by Trump to dismantle parts of the U.S. government.
