Elon Musk has officially ended his role as a special government employee in the Trump administration. A White House official confirmed that Musk began the offboarding process this week. In a statement posted on his website, Musk thanked former President Donald Trump and said he was proud to lead efforts to cut government waste.
Musk, however, expressed disappointment over the recently passed federal spending bill. He criticized the legislation for adding more than $3 trillion to the national deficit, saying it undermines the fiscal goals he set out to achieve. “A bill can be big or beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it can be both.”
Despite his early enthusiasm, Musk’s initiative — often referred to as the “Doge mission” — fell short of expectations. His team proposed just $9 billion in cuts, far from the $1 trillion target Musk originally set. Critics have called the effort more symbolic than substantive.
Tech journalist Kara Swisher described Musk’s exit as inevitable. She noted that Musk is used to immediate execution in his companies, but government bureaucracy slowed him down. “He did more showmanship than actual work,” Swisher commented.
Swisher also said Musk likely frustrated other officials with his aggressive tactics and constant media attention. From cabinet meetings to Twitter outbursts, Musk often drew headlines more than results.
Musk’s criticism of the “big, beautiful” bill seemed to irritate Trump, but the former president shrugged off the remarks. Trump acknowledged that while the bill had flaws, it also had strong elements — a typical political compromise.
Tesla investors are now urging Musk to refocus on his company. A group of shareholders recently asked him to commit at least 40 hours per week to managing Tesla, citing concerns that his political activities were pulling him away from core business priorities.
Musk has admitted that his time spent on government work may have been too much. He told reporters that media coverage exaggerated his involvement, but also conceded, “The time allocation was probably too high.”
As Musk steps back from Washington, he remains influential. He still has access to Trump and recently visited the Oval Office during a meeting with South Africa’s leader. But sources say some officials found Musk to be more of a distraction than a help.
Moving forward, Musk is expected to focus on his companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and Starlink. Despite challenges, he remains one of the most influential figures in both business and tech.
His brief stint in politics may not have yielded massive change, but it reflected his ongoing interest in shaping public policy — even if, this time, it didn’t quite go as planned.