Elon Musk’s official involvement with the U.S. government is coming to a close. The Tesla CEO shared the news of his departure in a post on X Wednesday night, expressing gratitude to President Donald Trump for the chance to “reduce wasteful spending” by overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He stated, “The @DOGE mission will only grow stronger over time as it becomes an integral part of government operations,” acknowledging that his tenure as a special government employee was reaching its conclusion.
Musk’s exit was anticipated. Earlier this month, he revealed plans to scale back his government involvement and invest “significantly less” in U.S. political campaigns, having already poured nearly $300 million into Trump’s presidential efforts. He also intends to devote more attention to Tesla, especially as his contentious political role may have contributed to the company’s declining sales. Additionally, the special government employee title has a 130-day limit—an endpoint that was approaching if one considers January 20th, the date DOGE was established, to be the beginning of Musk’s involvement.
Musk is stepping away from the Trump administration just a day after he criticized the President’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in an interview with CBS, arguing that the tax legislation could exacerbate the federal deficit and interfere with his cost-saving initiatives at DOGE. Initially, Musk had claimed during Trump’s campaign that DOGE would achieve at least $2 trillion in federal budget cuts, but later revised the goals down to $1 trillion and then $150 billion. Currently, the DOGE website asserts it has saved $175 billion, though that figure should be taken with skepticism due to previous instances of overstated claims.
