White House shoots down reports Elon Musk will be out soon

The White House said on Wednesday that tech billionaire Elon Musk would stay on to complete his mission to slash US government spending and downsize the federal workforce, dismissing media reports that he would leave the role soon. Politico and ABC reported that US President Donald Trump had told members of his cabinet that Musk would soon depart and return to the private sector, although the reports did not make clear if that would mean Musk leaving before his 130-day mandate as a special government employee was set to expire around late May. Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with leading efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to cut government funding and reshape the federal bureaucracy. “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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Musk and Doge did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports. On Tuesday, Musk and Trump suffered a setback as a liberal judge in Wisconsin won election to the state Supreme Court, easily defeating a conservative judge whose campaign had been heavily bankrolled by Musk and groups tied to him. The vote had been seen as an early referendum on Trump’s presidency and Musk’s campaign to remake the US civil service. Shares of some government contracting companies rose following the reports of Musk’s possible impending return to the private sector. Shares of Musk’s Tesla, which had been down more than 6 per cent in early trading after a sharper-than-expected fall in first-quarter deliveries, reversed course and were up about 5 per cent on Wednesday afternoon. Musk told Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier last week that he was confident he would finish most of his stated aim of cutting US$1 trillion in federal spending by the end of his 130 days. But in a March 10 interview with Fox Business Network’s Kudlow, when he was asked by host Larry Kudlow: “You going to go another year?” Musk replied: “Yeah, I think so”. There has been speculation from day one over how long Musk could maintain his extraordinary position, one that has seen him get so close to Trump that critics have dubbed him the “co-president”. The Republican president was known for explosive break-ups with top advisers during his first term, but anyone hoping for such a split with Musk has been disappointed. Trump told reporters on Monday in the Oval Office that “I’d keep him as long as I could keep him” and “he’s a very talented guy”. “I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run,” Trump said. “And so, at some point, he’s going to be going back.” Not only was the South Africa-born tech mogul given a leading voice at a much-publicised cabinet meeting – despite having no official cabinet position – but he has regularly appeared with Trump in the Oval Office and flies with the president on weekends to his Florida golf resort. According to the Doge website, the only official window into its operations, Doge estimates it has saved US taxpayers US$140 billion as of April 2 through a series of actions including workforce reductions, asset sales, and contract cancellations, still far short of Musk’s US$1 trillion goal. But evidence for the stated savings was often missing, and the website’s calculations have been riddled with errors and corrections. Doge’s mandate as a whole was set to continue to July 4, 2026. However, many of the top figures in Doge were tied to Musk and have not said whether they would want to stay on after the departure of the billionaire, who has been the ideological force behind the government overhaul. There has been growing unease across the US over Musk’s blunt approach to mass lay-offs from the government workforce. Nearly 200,000 employees have been fired, earmarked for termination or have accepted buyouts. Republican lawmakers have faced the wrath of angry voters at unruly town halls, while many of Doge’s efforts have become the subject of lawsuits. Tesla dealerships have been vandalised in the US and abroad, and a nationwide protest against Doge and Trump’s agenda was planned for this Saturday. Additional reporting by Associated Press and Agence France-Presse

White House shoots down reports Elon Musk will be out soon

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US reports said the world’s richest man could soon step away from his unprecedented role in the Trump administration

US reports said the world’s richest man could soon step away from his unprecedented role in the Trump administration