After four months of disruption, Elon Musk signals he’s leaving government

Elon Musk is saying goodbye to DOGE.

The billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, whose government-slashing initiative reshaped Washington over a whirlwind four months, on Wednesday confirmed his time as a “special government employee” was concluding soon.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

Musk and Trump have signaled for weeks that the DOGE chief would soon take a step back from the White House. Musk committed last month to drop his DOGE duties significantly and focus on his companies amid tumbling Tesla sales and stock prices.

“Special government employees” — Musk’s executive branch designation — are only allowed to work up to 130 days per year, a deadline that comes Friday, assuming Musk worked every day since Inauguration Day. Musk did not specify an exact end date, and a DOGE spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk’s apparent departure comes a day after the billionaire criticized Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill,” slamming Trump’s landmark legislation for undermining DOGE’s spending cuts.

His secretive team’s unorthodox slash-and-burn tactics have sowed chaos across Washington and touched nearly every corner of the federal government. Although Trump has remained a fierce advocate of Musk, the Tesla CEO has clashed in recent months with several top administration officials.