Elon Musk on Wednesday sort of confirmed that he’s cutting his ties with both the Department of Government Efficiency and Donald Trump’s Cabinet, ending a chaotic federal side quest that lasted just over three months.
The eccentric but highly-respected billionaire, who has juggled his role at Tesla with his federal gig since January, told Trump and his administration face-to-face at the White House that his focus will change almost entirely back to Tesla starting in May.
The announcement landed in the middle of a Cabinet meeting on April 30.
“It’s been an honor to work with your incredible Cabinet,” Elon said directly to Trump during the gathering. “I would just like to say thank you to everyone, it was an honor to work with you, so thank you for everything.”
Elon then praised the administration’s first 100 days as record-breaking, saying:
“A tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days. As everyone has said, it’s more than has been accomplished in any administration before. Ever. So this portends very well for what happens, for the rest of the administration.”
The decision didn’t come as a complete surprise. On Tesla’s earnings call last week, Elon warned investors that his time spent on the DOGE assignment would drop sharply in May. He said he planned to dedicate only “a day or two per week” to the federal work moving forward, now that the setup phase was over.
Elon pulls back after underwhelming savings and rising costs
Elon told Trump and the rest of the Cabinet that the DOGE initiative had saved the federal government $160 billion so far. That’s a long shot from the $2 trillion he originally pitched when he joined the administration. Trump, during the same meeting, said the savings stood at $150 billion before Elon jumped in to correct him, saying, “$160 billion, but who’s counting?”
Last year, Elon had publicly declared DOGE would cut at least $2 trillion from government spending. But by January, he started walking that back. In an interview, he said:
“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s the best-case outcome. But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting 1.”
The actual numbers tell a different story. On Tuesday, the New York Post reported that Elon had already left the West Wing. His team, though, remained active at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building nearby.
At the same time, the New York Times revealed that the Partnership for Public Service estimated that DOGE-related disruptions — including layoffs, re-hiring delays, paid leaves, and reduced productivity — would cost the government $135 billion this year alone.
Trump still thanked Elon directly during the Cabinet meeting, saying, “We all want to thank you for your help. You really have sacrificed a lot. You’ve been treated very unfairly.” Elon didn’t shy away from the response, joking, “Well, they like to burn my cars, which is not great,” referring to recent vandalism of Tesla vehicles and locations since DOGE was announced.
Trump responded, “The vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you, and this whole room can say that very strongly, you have really been a tremendous help.” He then told Elon, “You’re invited to stay as long as you want.” Cabinet secretaries and other officials clapped after the comment.
Tesla comes first as DOGE winds down
Elon made it clear during Tesla’s earnings call that while he’s not fully abandoning DOGE, it’s no longer a top priority. “I’ll continue for as long as the president would like me to do so, and as long as it’s useful,” he said. But that came with a caveat.
“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.”
A printed DOGE report was placed in front of Trump during the Cabinet session. It was the last visible symbol of Elon’s involvement in the government’s effort to clean house.
That wraps up his strange detour into federal bureaucracy. And now, after a few months of pushing spreadsheets and cutting teams, Elon is heading back to cars, earnings calls, and maybe a few more burned Teslas.
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