Elon Musk has officially stepped down from his role in the U.S. government, saying he will now shift his full attention back to running Tesla and SpaceX after months of tension over federal spending policies.
In a statement on his platform X, Musk said:
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
He added:
“The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
His announcement came shortly after criticizing Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed the House and now awaits Senate review.
Critics argue the bill would slash healthcare programs and increase the U.S. deficit by up to $4 trillion over ten years.
In an interview with CBS News, Musk said:
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
He added:
“A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pushed back on Musk’s concerns via X:
“The Big Beautiful Bill is NOT an annual budget bill.”
He explained that DOGE-related budget changes would require a separate bill under Senate rules.
Musk’s public disagreement marked a rare split from Trump, who he had supported during the 2024 campaign with nearly $250 million in contributions.
Appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk oversaw sweeping layoffs and department closures.
But he faced growing frustration from both inside and outside Washington.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Musk said:
“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything.”
“Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
He admitted the bureaucratic resistance was far greater than expected:
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized. I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”
Despite achieving large-scale cuts, Musk said DOGE didn’t meet all its objectives.
His business ventures also took a hit. Protesters targeted Tesla outlets, and some electric vehicles were set on fire.
“People were burning Teslas. Why would you do that That’s really uncool,” he said.
Musk began stepping back from his government role in late April to refocus on his companies.
SpaceX suffered a blow this week when a prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean.
He also announced he would scale back political donations, having spent heavily during the last election cycle.
Despite recent setbacks, Musk remains committed to advancing both his space exploration and electric vehicle projects.
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