Musk officially leaves the US DOGE, admitting that politics is harder than he expected! Has the brotherly bond with Trump soured?

In the last days of May 2025, Tesla founder and tech magnate Elon Musk made a brief "cameo" in American politics. He officially announced the end of his tenure as a distinguished government employee with the U.S. Government Efficiency Department (DOGE). Although U.S. President Donald Trump stressed at the White House that Musk "hasn't really left" and will continue to be a "friend and adviser", Musk himself admitted that pushing for reforms in government is much more difficult than he initially thought. This series of events, coupled with Musk's previous public criticism of some of the Trump administration's policies, has triggered a lot of speculation about whether the "brotherhood" between the two has changed and Musk's future political influence. Musk bids farewell to DOGE

On the morning of May 29, 2025, Musk officially announced the end of his special assignment at the U.S. Efficiency Department (DOGE) with a brief post. He wrote, "As my term as a special government employee comes to an end, I want to thank President @realDonaldTrump for giving me the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will grow stronger over time, becoming a way of life within government operations." The DOGE plan is officially set to launch on January 20, 2025, by President Trump through an executive order, aimed at modernizing the information technology of the U.S. government, enhancing administrative efficiency, and significantly reducing wasteful government spending. Musk is deeply involved as a "special government employee" and has committed to completing his phased tasks within 130 days. His exit now is basically in line with the previously announced timeline. To honor Musk's contributions to the DOGE sector, President Trump personally held a "farewell" press conference for Musk in the Oval Office on May 31. Trump praised Musk for bringing a "generational bureaucratic transformation" and even presented Musk with a metal key embossed with the White House seal, symbolizing the nation's gratitude for his contributions. Despite the fact that Musk's term under the Special Government Employee Act has been over for 130 days, Trump stated ambiguously at a press conference: "He hasn't really left; he will be appearing frequently... I think he will still do a lot of things." Trump even described the government efficiency department (DOGE) as Musk's "child," implying that he won't completely let it go. In response to Trump's warm invitation, Musk stated that after his statutory term as a "special government employee" ends, he expects to "continue visiting" Washington, D.C. and to remain as the president's "fren and advisor." He also expressed his belief that the DOGE department will find more ways to cut government spending and achieve the ambitious goal of reducing 1 trillion dollars before the plan is scheduled to end in mid-2026 (with a possibility of extension). However, Musk also admitted in an interview that implementing sweeping reforms in government departments is far more challenging than he expected. The bureaucracy, vested interests, and complex regulations within the government present significant challenges to improving efficiency. This statement seems to add another layer of explanation for his departure from the DOGE department.

It is worth noting that although Trump tried to create an atmosphere at the farewell event that his relationship with Musk remains solid, speculation from the outside about a potential rift in their "brotherhood" has not ceased. An important clue is that Musk, in a previous interview with CBS, explicitly expressed his disappointment with the "big and beautiful" spending bill introduced by the Trump administration. Musk believes that the bill aimed at implementing a comprehensive tax cut worth up to $4.5 trillion over the next decade will lead to a significant increase in the U.S. budget deficit and essentially "undermine" the efforts of the DOGE team he leads to save government spending. In an interview, he stated: "I’m disappointed with this massive spending bill, which increases the budget deficit... and undermines the work the government efficiency department team is doing... I think a bill can be big and beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both. This is my personal opinion." Critics estimate that the "Great Beauty Act" could add between $3.3 trillion and $3.8 trillion to the U.S. national debt over the next decade. For a long time, Musk has warned that if the deficit issue is not controlled, the U.S. will face the risk of "bankruptcy." In his comments on CBS, he clearly echoed these concerns about the soaring deficit. In addition, Musk has also criticized the White House's trade policy, calling then-trade czar Peter Navarro "an idiot" and "dumber than a bag of bricks," and expressing that he thinks lowering tariffs might be a better idea. These public criticisms undoubtedly cast a shadow over the relationship between Musk and Trump. Musk's future moves

Since its establishment, the DOGE department has been a subject of controversy. Supporters argue that Musk's involvement has brought much-needed innovative drive and efficiency thinking from the private sector to a rigid and inefficient government agency. However, critics believe that many initiatives of the DOGE department lack substantial results, and its claim of "saving $10 billion every week" lacks reliable data support. The large-scale layoffs of government employees may also weaken the functions of regulatory agencies, posing potential risks to long-term governance. Now, Musk, the soul of the DOGE department, has officially announced his departure. The future direction of the department and who will take over the leadership have become uncertain, and it will take time to observe. Meanwhile, Musk has also made it clear that he will refocus on his core businesses, returning to a state of fully managing his enterprises, emphasizing: "It's back to those days of being at the job 24 hours a day, sleeping in meeting rooms, server rooms, or factories. I now have to concentrate fully on X, xAI, TSL, and the Starship launch because we are about to roll out some key technologies." He also reflected on the operational disruptions that occurred on the X platform this week, admitting that there is significant room for improvement at the operational level and stating that the failover mechanism that should have been activated did not function properly, which must be thoroughly reviewed. After the news broke, Tesla's stock price rose in after-hours trading, seemingly reflecting the market's positive expectations that Musk will devote more energy to managing the company. The indispensable "Horse Consultant" Overall, although Musk has nominally left the DOGE department, his political alliance with Trump does not seem to have completely dissolved. From Trump's statements, it appears that Musk is likely to continue providing advice to the White House on policy-making and reform directions in the future, maintaining his influence in Washington. For Musk, temporarily leaving his official position can not only defuse the criticism that he has multiple important roles at the same time and "lack of skills", but also not completely cut off from the White House, so as to maintain the necessary policy influence. The two sides seem to have made a "cut", but in fact they both retain considerable room for maneuver. In this interaction between tech giants and political strongmen, the line between politics and business remains blurred. Musk has simply chosen to continue to participate as a more resilient "advisor", and how his role and influence evolve in the future will remain the focus of the market's continued attention. #Musk announces departure from Trump administration