Musk plans to leave government service but continue to wield cost-cutting axe

Elon Musk plans to leave government service shortly when the end date on his temporary status as a government employee is reached, the White House confirmed Wednesday.

Politico reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump told members of the cabinet that Musk will depart “in the coming weeks.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed Politico’s characterization of the news as a “scoop” on X, asserting Musk and Trump have both spoken publicly about it.

Earlier in the week, Trump acknowledged that at some point Musk would have to prioritize Tesla, SpaceX and the billionaire’s other business ventures.

“Well, I think he’s … amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run. And so, at some point he’s going to be going back. He wants to,” Trump said, according to ABC News. 

Musk’s effort leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has led to massive cuts of government spending, bureaucrats and waste, outraging liberals and hurting Musk’s public image in the process. 

Musk told Bret Baier in an interview that the work of DOGE is getting closer to its goal of being able to cut about a trillion dollars in spending from the federal government. 

However, incredible pressure has been heaped on Musk, who took the federal bureaucracy by storm with a small team of highly intelligent workers determined to cut waste first and worry about consequences later. 

Squeals of pain from big government lobbyists as the cuts took place eventually turned into a persistent attack not just on Musk, but on his bevy of companies, especially Tesla. 

Musk believes the attacks and protests are being organized by rich Democrat donors. 

Fox New reported that the numbers of attacks on Tesla and Tesla owners has soared past 50 in the U.S. since the inauguration, while 17 attacks have been reported internationally.  

The most serious attacks have involved incendiary devices and have been labeled domestic terrorism by Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi.  

As a consequence, Tesla’s stock has retreated from its 52-week high of $488.54 to its current price of $282.76 on April 3. Tesla’s stock price, however, is still up 67% for the year-over-year period. 

Politico estimated that the period of Musk’s appointment as a special government employee will end in late May or early June.  

But even after Musk’s formal departure from government employment, which has been characterized as only quasi-official, government officials warn not to expect Musk to lay down his cost-cutting axe.  

“One senior administration official said Musk is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser and continue to be an occasional face around the White House grounds,” reported Politico. “Another cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is ‘fooling themselves.'”