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Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk thanked US President Donald Trump as his time as a special government employee as part of the Department of Government Efficiency draws to an end, he said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," Elon Musk posted on X.
A White House official, who requested anonymity to talk about the change, confirmed news agency Associated Press that Elon Musk was leaving.
“Elon Musk is leaving the administration is accurate and his off-boarding will begin tonight,” the official said.
Elon Musk's 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire around May 30. The administration has said DOGE's efforts to restructure and shrink the federal government will continue.
What did Elon Musk say about Trump’s tax bill?
The Tesla CEO's departure comes one day after he criticised the centrepiece of Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, saying he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “big beautiful bill".
The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. While speaking to CBS, Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful," Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
Musk's CBS interview came out Tuesday night. Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation.
“I am not happy about certain aspects of it, but I am thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said. Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We are going to see what happens,” the US president said, adding that “it’s got a way to go".
Republicans recently pushed the measure through the House and are debating it in the Senate.
Musk's concerns are shared by some Republican lawmakers. “I sympathise with Elon being discouraged,” said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.
Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, Johnson added that he was “pretty confident” there was enough opposition “to slow this process down until the president, our leadership, gets serious” about reducing spending. He said there was no amount of pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson has asked senators to make as few changes to the legislation as possible, saying that House Republicans reached a “very delicate balance” that could be upended with major changes. The narrowly divided House will have to vote again on final passage once the Senate alters the bill.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, saying “the House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings.”
The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorized spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE’s cuts. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the package will include $1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and $8.3 billion in foreign assistance.
Musk’s criticism come as he steps back from his government work, rededicating himself to companies like the electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. He's also said he'll reduce his political spending, because “I think I’ve done enough.”
(With inputs from AP, Reuters)
