Elon Musk Exits Trump Administration: Here Is Why (Photo on X@cb_doge)

United States: Ending his short stint in the US administration, billionaire Elon Musk has announced his exit from the Donald Trump government. The exit of the SpaceX CEO comes amid reports that Musk is disappointed by one of Trump’s signature tax bills, marking his break from the US president who he arguably helped to win the 2024 re-election.

After coming to power, Trump appointed Musk as a special government employee to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also called DOGE. Though it was a temporary role, the special government employees are tasked to provide specialised expertise for government initiatives. DOGEs are usually hired as experts or consultants or serve as members of federal advisory committees.

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US Congress created the special government employee role for the first time in 1962, allowing the executive and the legislative branches and independent federal agencies to bring on employees for specific roles on a temporary basis.

During his first term as President, Trump had hired a DOGE, Dr. Scott Atlas as a science adviser in 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. After clashing with other public health officials over his views on coronavirus, Atlas resigned from the post in the same year.

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After Trump picked the billionaire to helm the DOGE in February this year, Musk had pledged to cut the federal government budget and make more savings. Musk’s involvement in the governance has drawn criticism for his alleged aggressive approach. Through his redundancy agreements, around 260,000 federal civilian jobs were cut or left as part of Musk’s budget reduction policy. The rapid downsizing efforts and layoffs pushed many to question Musk’s approaches. The criticism also affected his business, including the fall in Tesla sales.

There were also boycott calls and protests targeting Tesla, including vandalism of cars and charging stations. Recently, Musk stated his intention that he would return full-time to his businesses, citing growing criticism and blaming him and DOGE.

However, announcing his exit from the government position, Musk thanked President Donald Trump for the chance to lead the Department. Musk, on Thursday, shared a post by a user suggesting that he has no issue with the President, while pointing out that his position was just a Special Government Employee, limited to 130 days of service.

“In the coming days, the legacy media will try to convince you that President Trump and Elon Musk are no longer friends and that’s why Musk left. What they won’t tell you is that Elon was a Special Government Employee, limited to 130 days of service and that term ends tomorrow,” the post reads.

In the coming days, legacy media will try to convince you that President Trump and Elon Musk are no longer friends and that’s why Musk left.

What they won’t tell you is that Elon was a Special Government Employee, limited to 130 days of service and that term ends tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/blNzVm9Gnd

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 29, 2025