On May 30, 2025, Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the United States, will officially step down from his position. President Trump announced on Thursday, May 29, that a joint press conference will be held at 1:30 PM on the day of Musk’s departure in the Oval Office of the White House to review Musk’s term achievements.
Trump posted on his self-created social platform, “Truth Social,” saying, “This will be his last day in office. But this is not the real end, as he will continue to walk with us and assist us wholeheartedly. Elon is truly remarkable!”
On the same day, Musk also issued a statement on social platform X, formally announcing his departure. He wrote, “As my term as a special government employee comes to an end, I sincerely thank President Trump for giving me this opportunity to focus on reducing government waste spending. The mission of DOGE will deepen over time and ultimately become the governing way of the entire government.”
Musk has been serving as a special government employee of DOGE since January 20, 2025, leading the department in promoting reforms within federal agencies. During his tenure, he actively promoted measures such as personnel reduction, organizational consolidation, and data integration to enhance administrative efficiency and reduce unnecessary expenditures.
According to the DOGE website, as of May 26, 2025, under Musk’s leadership, the department has saved approximately $175 billion for the federal government, averaging about $1086.96 saved per taxpayer. The department’s measures include terminating redundant contracts, closing duplicate agencies, and promoting internal process digitalization. However, some reform measures have also sparked legal disputes and bureaucratic resistance, with some plans being postponed or adjusted.
Musk admitted that the reform has been more challenging than expected. He told The Washington Post, “The situation in the federal bureaucracy is even worse than I imagined. I thought there would be problems, but pushing for reform in Washington really feels like climbing uphill against the wind.”
According to media reports such as The Wall Street Journal, during the 2024 US presidential election, Musk donated over $250 million, becoming one of the largest individual political donors of that election cycle. The donations mainly went to his “America PAC” and the pro-Trump “RBG PAC” to support Trump’s campaign activities.
However, Musk recently stated that he would refocus on his businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX, and plans to significantly reduce his participation and donations in political activities.
According to the Associated Press, at an economic forum held in Qatar in May, Musk said, “I think I’ve done enough… I will greatly reduce my involvement in political donations in the future.”
It is widely believed that Musk’s decision is also related to the recent financial pressure faced by Tesla. While serving as the head of DOGE, his company’s operations have also been adversely affected. Tesla’s sales have significantly dropped, especially in the European market, with sales nearly halved in April 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla’s car sales revenue dropped by 20% year-on-year, total revenue fell by 9%, and net profits plummeted by 71%. Under investor pressure, Musk announced that he will refocus on business operations to restore market confidence.
As of May 30, 2025, Tesla’s stock price was reported at $358.43, rebounding over 60% from its April low.
Musk has recently expressed concerns about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” promoted by the Trump administration, believing that the tax reform could increase the fiscal deficit and undermine DOGE’s efforts to cut expenses.
In response, Trump told reporters at the White House, “I’m not happy with certain aspects of it, but very pleased with other aspects.” Trump emphasized that the passage of the bill requires broad support within the Republican party, hence compromises have to be made in certain aspects.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pointed out that DOGE’s proposed spending cuts mainly target the government’s annual discretionary spending. However, according to Senate budget rules, such expenditures cannot swiftly pass through the simplified “budget reconciliation process” and must rely on other legislative procedures, making it more challenging to implement.
On May 29, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade stated on “Fox & Friends” that although Musk has stepped down from his White House duties, “he won’t leave it at that,” indicating that he may return to the political arena in some capacity in the future.
“He will come back,” Kilmeade said. “I think he will take a break for some time, but will come back in some way.”
The Department of Government Efficiency was originally slated to cease operations on July 4, 2026, and a successor leader has not been announced yet. Trump stated that the department will continue to operate and plans to expand collaboration with other tech leaders. The upcoming joint press conference is seen as an important signal of future direction, drawing significant media and public attention.