By Adenike Lawal
After months of public service aimed at cutting federal expenditures, Elon Musk has officially stepped down from his temporary government role under the Trump administration.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO confirmed on Wednesday that his tenure as a Special Government Employee, tasked with reducing bureaucracy through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has come to an end.
Taking to his social media platform X, Musk expressed gratitude to President Donald Trump for the opportunity but did not shy away from voicing his concerns about recent policy directions.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee concludes, I want to express gratitude to President Trump for trusting me with this mission to cut wasteful spending,” Musk wrote. “DOGE remains a long-term project, one that I believe will continue to evolve as a model of efficiency within government.”
Musk’s resignation follows his strong opposition to Trump’s recently passed spending bill, known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
The legislation, which merges tax cuts with large-scale public expenditures, has drawn criticism for its projected impact on the national deficit-potentially increasing it by up to $4 trillion over the next decade.
Critics argue the bill undermines the very objectives Musk aimed to achieve through DOGE.
In a CBS News interview aired Tuesday, Musk said the bill contradicted the principles of fiscal responsibility: “I was disappointed to see the bill pass. It’s not just a spending increase; it undercuts everything the DOGE team has been trying to do.”
Once considered one of Trump’s most vocal allies-both as a public supporter and a significant donor to the 2024 campaign-Musk’s recent statements have signaled a rare divergence from the administration.
He had been central to efforts to streamline government operations, with DOGE overseeing the downsizing of tens of thousands of federal employees.
However, Musk said his initiatives met increasing political resistance.
Speaking to The Washington Post from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas, he lamented the role DOGE had come to play in the political crossfire.
“Any time something went wrong-even if it had nothing to do with us-DOGE took the hit,” he said.
Musk cited entrenched bureaucracy as a major barrier to meaningful reform. “The scale of dysfunction in Washington is worse than I imagined. It’s a monumental challenge to implement real change.”
His departure also comes at a turbulent time for his private ventures. Tesla has seen a decline in profits and become the target of protests linked to Musk’s involvement in government downsizing.
Several Tesla dealerships have been attacked, and reports of arson involving electric vehicles have surfaced.
“People have been burning Teslas over this. That’s just insane,” Musk told the Post.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has encountered setbacks of its own. Earlier this week, a prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean during a test flight, dealing a blow to Musk’s long-term vision of Mars colonization.
Musk, who reportedly spent around $250 million backing Trump’s re-election bid, now says he is stepping away from politics entirely.
“I’m refocusing on my companies,” he said, adding that while DOGE’s mission may endure, it will do so without him at the helm.
