Elon Musk Exits Trump Adviser Role amid Backlash over Government Cuts
Moneylife Digital Team 29 May 2025
Elon Musk has announced his departure from the Trump administration, stepping down from his role as a senior adviser and special government employee after months of controversy and internal clashes in Washington.
 
The billionaire chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla and SpaceX confirmed his resignation on Wednesday evening via a post on X, his social media platform, marking the end of a 130-day tenure leading the department of government efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-era initiative aimed at slashing bureaucracy and reducing federal spending.
 
 
Mr Musk’s announcement came less than 24 hours after he publicly criticised the president’s flagship legislation, a sweeping tax and immigration Bill referred to by president Trump as his 'big beautiful Bill'. In an interview with CBS, the Tesla CEO called it a 'massive spending bill' that would 'increase the federal deficit and undermine the work of DOGE'.
 
Taking a jab at the Bill’s branding, he quipped, “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both.”
 
President Trump responded during an Oval Office exchange with reporters, defending the legislation but conceding that revisions could still be made. “I am not happy about certain aspects of it, but I am thrilled by other aspects of it,” the president says. “We are going to see what happens. It is got a way to go.”
 
White House officials confirmed Mr Musk’s resignation was in process as of Wednesday evening, with his off-boarding beginning immediately. A source familiar with the matter said Mr Musk did not speak directly with president Trump before making his decision public, and that the departure was coordinated at a senior staff level.
 
The Tesla CEO’s exit brings to a close a turbulent chapter in Washington, during which he led aggressive efforts to reduce the federal civilian workforce. According to a Reuters analysis, the administration succeeded in cutting around 12%, or about 260,000 jobs, through a mix of layoffs, buyouts and early retirement schemes.
 
Despite the numbers, Mr Musk reportedly grew frustrated with the pace of reform and the resistance he encountered within the federal system. “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised,” he told The Washington Post earlier this week. “It is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.”
 
He also said DOGE had become a 'whipping boy' within the administration, often blamed for unrelated failures. Mr Musk clashed behind closed doors with senior officials, and publicly called White House trade adviser Peter Navarro a 'moron' for rejecting his proposal for a US-Europe zero-tariff pact.
 
Tensions with the administration further escalated over a reported artificial intelligence (AI) deal between Abu Dhabi and OpenAI — a direct competitor to Mr Musk’s own company. According to reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the Tesla CEO attempted to block the deal unless his own company was included. His efforts were unsuccessful.
 
Mr Musk's growing disillusionment with politics was also influenced by his political setbacks. A failed judicial candidate he had heavily backed in Wisconsin, despite spending US$25mn (million), added to his frustrations, according to multiple sources.
 
Investors had increasingly raised concerns about Mr Musk’s dual roles, urging him to refocus on his core business responsibilities at Tesla. Some have criticised his involvement in partisan politics and government restructuring, suggesting it was a distraction from Tesla’s leadership needs.
 
Earlier this month, Mr Musk signalled a pullback from political funding, saying at an economic forum in Qatar, “I think I have done enough.” Though he had pledged to contribute US$100mn to Trump-aligned political groups ahead of the 2026 midterms, no funds had been disbursed as of this week, The New York Times reported.
 
Mr Musk’s time in the Trump administration—and at the helm of DOGE—may have come to an unceremonious end, but the initiative is expected to continue. Both Musk and administration officials have said the programme to restructure and slim down the federal government will persist.
 
While Mr Musk departs Washington, his legacy at DOGE remains mixed: a blend of disruptive reform, political fallout and high-profile criticism of the very administration he was meant to serve. Whether his vision of government 'efficiency' survives beyond his tenure remains to be seen.
 
Comments
parimalshah1
5 months ago
The way US is printing dollars it is not MAGA but MADIR - make American Debt Impossible to repay. I guess it is at present in trillions of US dollars and soon it may reach a quadrillion.
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