Elon Musk, known for his work with Tesla and SpaceX, bid farewell to his role with President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, stating that their collective efforts contributed to saving taxpayers a staggering $160 billion. During his final meeting in the Presidential Office on Friday, Musk acknowledged the enormity of the task of cutting down federal expenditure, describing it as ‘a lot of work.’ Musk, sporting a bruise on his eye, humorously revealed that it was the result of a playful altercation with his five-year-old son, X, from whom he took a punch to the face for fun.
Musk emphasized his strong connection to the Department of Government Efficiency, abbreviated as DOGE. He stated that his exit from the department doesn’t imply its extinction. Rather, he confidently predicted that, under new leadership, the team would continue to flourish and expand its influence over government spending. He further equated it to the principles of Buddhism, suggesting that DOGE had transitioned from a government entity to becoming a lifestyle
Musk’s involvement with the administration of President Donald Trump was scheduled to last for approximately four months. With this tenure coming to an end, Musk addressed his final press conference on Friday. Despite the imminent departure, he was triumphant, attributing the predicted savings of $160 billion for the fiscal years 2025-2026 to the diligent work done by DOGE. He also hinted at the potential of this savings figure rising to $200 billion in the future.
Previously, on the campaign trail alongside Trump, Musk had set the ambitious goal of saving a massive $2 trillion dollars. This lofty number was later revised to $1 trillion. As he stepped down on Friday, he expressed confidence in his prediction of achieving this adjusted goal over time through systemic waste reduction. Musk’s task of downsizing costs was anything but easy due to the colossal volume of transaction items that required scrutiny.
Critically examining millions of budgetary line items and evaluating the necessity of each constituted a significant chunk of the work put in by Musk and his team at DOGE. This encompassed taking a magnifying glass to every item and asking if the expenditure made logical and fiscal sense or not. After all, some items of expenditure were wasteful, while others were necessary, making this a crucial but complex task.
The democratic faction of governance reacted to Musk’s departure positively in general. Michael Frerichs, Illinois Treasurer, issued a statement claiming that DOGE had never truly been about fiscal responsibility, rather, he considered it to symbolize the economic inequity endemic in Trump’s administration. He criticized Musk as emblematic of the administration’s preferential treatment of the wealthy elite, thus neglecting the plight of working-class Americans grappling with financial hardships, such as unemployment and homelessness.
The sentiments of Oregon Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner painted Musk’s primary company, Tesla, as requiring his full attention. In her statement, she contended that DOGE was adverse to American employment, having resulted in a substantial loss of jobs. Steiner also argued that the Department stalled essential medical research and disrupted critical public services like Social Security—a financial lifeline for many American families.
Steiner strongly urged Musk to return his focus to his original role as an innovator and entrepreneur in the field he truly masters. This echoed the sentiments of a collection of investors who earlier in the week, sent a message to Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm, encouraging the board to insist that Musk dedicate a full work week, a minimum of 40 hours, to leading and managing the company.
Addressing the investors’ concerns, Musk, during the previous month, committed to dedicating more time to Tesla which is heavily involved in the manufacture of electric vehicles. Further, on Friday, he assured that he would continue to be available to President Trump in an unofficial capacity, serving him as both a friend and an advisor whenever the need arose.
Despite his departure from his official role, both Trump and Musk reassured the public that Musk’s ties to the administration still persisted. They stated that Musk would have a back-and-forth involvement with the administration and especially with DOGE. Trump believed strongly in Musk’s ongoing influence over the department, jokingly referring to it as ‘his baby,’ implying that Musk was expected to play an instrumental role in its future development and decisions.
During his tenure at DOGE, Musk did not shy away from acknowledging the many challenges faced by the team, especially the backlash resulting from their proposed budget cuts. He commented on the resistance they encountered due to directing significant budget cuts, juxtaposed with certain expense reductions that elicited hardly any reactions at all.
Musk illustrated the complexity of their task by explaining, ‘Naturally, the beneficiaries of these funds would object when costs were cut, regardless of whether or not their receipt of such funds was legitimate.’ On a more surprising note, he pointed out DOGE’s discovery of an astonishing number of unused software licenses that ran into the millions, the elimination of which led to no complaints.
Musk candidly admitted to feeling frustrated about DOGE being credited with, and criticized for, actions beyond its control, ultimately making it a sort of fall guy for every government budget cut decision. He shared an anecdote about a friend’s intern daughter, who erroneously attributed cuts to legal internships with the U.S. Senate to DOGE, despite the department having no influence over said decision.
The CEO stated with a hint of frustration, ‘We had no involvement in that decision.’ He further expressed his concern over the far-reaching blame assigned to DOGE for each and every spending cut, including those that were completely nonsensical in his view. He expressed his surprise and slight annoyance at the extent of misunderstanding surrounding the operations of the department.