Elon Musk Is Out! Donald Trump's Pal Exits His Administration After 4 Months as DOGE Leader

Elon Musk has exited Donald Trump's administration.

The Tesla CEO announced via his social media platform X (formerly named Twitter) on Wednesday, May 28, that he was stepping down from his controversial role heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk said in his statement.

He continued: "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

In response to Musk's post, an X user asked Grok — the SpaceX founder's artificial intelligence chatbot — to "summarize Elon's achievements as a Special Government Employee."

"As a Special Government Employee, Elon Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claiming $160 billion in savings by terminating wasteful contracts, like $255 million from 269 contracts, and modernizing IT systems, such as digitizing the OPM retirement process," the AI software alleged. "DOGE also cleaned Social Security records and supported voter integrity measures."

Weighing both sides of the role, Grok noted: "However, these efforts face criticism for potential costs of $135 billion in lost productivity, legal challenges, and service disruptions. Concerns about Musk's business conflicts and political motivations persist, with public opinion divided, as 54% view him unfavorably. The true impact of DOGE remains debated amid ongoing scrutiny."

Trump hinted at Musk's exit during a private cabinet meeting roughly two months ago.

During the March 24 discussion, Trump informed his cabinet members that Musk — whom he called a "patriot" — would soon be returning to his own personal business ventures.

"He’s a friend of mine. He's become a friend of mine. He supported me in the election. That's when I got to know him. I knew him a little bit from the first term, but not much. But he's a patriot more than anything else," the Republican leader declared, praising Musk for allegedly never trying to use his friendship with Trump for personal benefit.

"He has never asked me for a thing," Trump admitted. “He could have. I always say, I wonder if he's ever going to ask me for something, and that's always subject to change, and if it does change, I'll let you know about it. But Elon has never asked me for a thing.”

Trump provided a brief explanation as to why Musk is ditching the president's administration, telling reporters on March 31: "He's got a big company to run, and so at some point he's going to be going back."

"I keep [sic] him as long as I could keep him. He's a very talented guy. You know, I love very smart people. He's very smart, and he's done a good job," the POTUS stated.