President Donald Trump has told his Cabinet and inner circle that Elon Musk is stepping back from his government role.
The Tesla and Space X founder will soon be returning to the business world, Politico reported, in a move that rattled the stock market and caused shock waves in Washington.
Musk’s designation as a special government employee meant he was scheduled to step down in May but he’s now leaving early in a cloud of controversy.
It was a joint decision between the two men and Trump said he remains happy with Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency.
But Musk has become a controversial figure due to his slash and burn style of cutting down the federal government. He also just sank $20 million into Wisconsin‘s Supreme Court race only to have his Republican candidate lose.
And stock in Tesla has dropped sharply with sales down and sales lots are being set on fire.
The report Musk is going back to his business roots did send his company shares’ soaring. He became a billionaire through his various corporate holdings.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump with a Tesla cyber truck on South Lawn of White House
Trump empowered him to bring that power and success to the federal government.
The decision caused immediate controversy leading to questions as to whether Musk, whose Space X company has billions in government contracts, had a conflict of interest.
Additionally, Musk’s work to cut the size of the federal government has resulted in mass firings and lawsuits against the Trump administration.
He’s also proven unpredictability.
In all, Musk began to be seen as a political liability. The Democratic candidate in Wisconsin won, in part, by shaping the race as ‘The People vs. Elon Musk.’
Publicly Trump has supported Musk, keeping him close and visible. Musk has been with him in the Oval Office, walked the path from the White House to Marine One, and gotten rides on Air Force One.
The president even turned the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla show room after the company stock sank. Trump wrote Musk a personal check for one of the electric cars.
But privately Trump has told his Cabinet that they are in charge of each of their departments, not Musk. Musk was in that Cabinet meeting when Trump made the announcement.
Elon Musk is designated as a ‘special government employee,’ which has a 130-day time limit
Elon Musk speaking at President Trump’s March 24th Cabinet meeting
And there were mutterings of tension with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Musk was reported to not follow the White House chain of command, which would require him to keep Wiles in the loop more.
And his unexpected comments and commentary on X – including sharing unvetted and uncoordinated plans to gut federal agencies – led to a PR crisis for the administration.
Also not helping was a salute he gave that many compared to the Nazi salute and the drama around his family both with the mother of his children and one of his kids who is a transgender.
Musk is designated as a ‘special government employee,’ which has a 130-day time limit.
Many were worried Trump would find a way around that restriction. The designation also exempts Musk from some ethics and conflict-of-interest rules.
The 130-day period is expected to expire in late May or early June.
And it appears the president is ready to let go of the man who spent $200 million to get him elected.
But many don’t expect Musk to entirely disappear.
One aide told Politico that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is ‘fooling themselves.’
The Tesla founder will likely still have regular access to Trump and an open invitation to the Oval Office.
And he’s likely to still hang out a Mar-a-Lago, where he and Trump frequently dine together.
Musk has cemented himself as one of the most powerful figures in the Republican Party, using his vast financial resources to make himself a force to be reckon with.
But Democrats are expected to use him as a boogeyman – much as the Republicans did to Nancy Pelosi – in the upcoming midterm election where control of Congress is at stake.
A recent NBC News poll found a majority of voters nationwide (51%) hold a negative view of Musk, while 39% viewed him positively.
Elon Musk, joined by his son X Musk, with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk deboard Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey
Musk will also have to deal with the fallout of Trump’s decisions when he gets back to the business world.
Tesla will be subject to Trump’s automotive tariffs as its key suppliers are in Mexico and China.
‘Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here,’ Musk wrote on social media last week of the tariffs. ‘The cost impact is not trivial.’
Trump’s 25 percent tariff is set to go into effect on April 2 as part of the president’s broader trade war.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s global vehicle deliveries fell 13% in the first quarter from a year ago, in what investors saw a sign of backlash against Musk’s government work.
