United States President Donald Trump has reportedly told his cabinet that Elon Musk will soon step back from his role in the administration, as his set government employment period nears its end and Tesla sales fall.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) organisation has moved to drastically cut U.S. government spending, lay off its employees, and dismantle its agencies. At least 56,000 government workers have been fired since Trump’s inauguration, with 75,000 accepting buyouts, and another 171,000 dismissals are reportedly planned.
“At some point Elon’s gonna want to go back to his company,” said Trump. “I’d keep him as long as I could keep him.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the report. "Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete,” she said on X.
Special government employees are limited to 130 days of work at the U.S. government. This would expire at the end of May, if Musk was granted employee status immediately after Trump’s inauguration in January.
Musk said last week that he expects to have completed his planned government spending cuts by the expiration date of his special government employee status. “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame.”
This follows a significant political defeat for Elon Musk in this week’s closely contested Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Musk and his affiliated groups invested more than US$21 million to back right-wing candidate Brad Schimel, as well as personally campaigning in Wisconsin for Schimel’s bid. Schimel was defeated by Democrat-supported candidate Susan Crawford.
Major DOGE cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services also began this week, with 10,000 employees at agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease Control and Prevention being dismissed. At least 24% of the department’s workforce has been fired so far this year.
Tesla stocks rallied after reports that Musk could step down. The company’s sales have plummeted in recent months, in part due to Musk’s alliance with Trump, and fell by 13% year-over-year in 2025’s first quarter.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) share price closed at US$282.76, up from its previous close at $268.46. Its market capitalisation is $909.5 billion.
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