Elon Musk Steps Down from Trump Administration

Elon Musk announced late Wednesday that he is stepping down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), just four months after joining President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO expressed gratitude for the opportunity, thanking President Trump for the chance to lead efforts aimed at slashing wasteful federal spending. Despite Musk’s exit, DOGE will continue its mission, he confirmed.

The resignation immediately triggered widespread speculation, not just because of Musk’s high profile, but due to his increasingly visible rapport with the president. Many questioned whether a rift had formed between the two powerful figures.

However, a post retweeted by Musk’s official X (formerly Twitter) account dismissed those claims, stating, “In the coming days, legacy media will try to convince you that President Trump and Elon Musk are no longer friends… What they won’t tell you is that Elon was a Special Government Employee, limited to 130 days of service, and that term ends tomorrow.”

The departure comes just one day after Musk openly criticised a Trump-backed spending bill—dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” by the president. Musk called the legislation “disappointing,” claiming it undermined the progress made by the DOGE team and worsened the national deficit.

“I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it can be both, in my personal opinion.”

Musk has long advocated for trimming government fat and pitched a cost-cutting initiative to Trump multiple times before the 2024 election. Since Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, DOGE has downsized 11 federal agencies, reportedly eliminating around 250,000 jobs and saving taxpayers an estimated $160 billion toward a $2 trillion target.

Yet data from the University of Pennsylvania’s budget model shows that government spending during this period outpaced last year’s numbers, raising questions about DOGE’s long-term impact.

So far, President Trump has not commented publicly on Musk’s resignation. The silence adds another layer to the complex and often volatile relationship between the billionaire innovator and the twice-elected president.

Their friendship, which evolved rapidly in recent years, reached a peculiar peak when Musk, known for his blunt candour, once declared, “I love Trump as much as a straight man can love another man.”