Elon Musk Says He Will Step Back From DOGE

Elon Musk announced Tuesday that he plans to significantly scale back his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Speaking during Tesla’s earnings call, Musk said his involvement with DOGE would drop “significantly” beginning in May, calling the bulk of the reform effort “mostly done,” Axios reported. Musk said, however, that he will remain loosely involved through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term to ensure the cuts stick.

“I’ll have to continue doing it for I think the remainder of the president’s term just to make sure the waste and fraud that we stopped does not come roaring back, which it will do if it has the chance,” Musk said, according to Axios. “I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it would be useful.”

Musk’s dual role as Tesla CEO and federal efficiency czar has drawn increasing scrutiny, with some investors voicing concern that his political entanglements are hurting the brand. On the call, Musk said that Tesla had taken “a few bumps in the road” due to his alliance with Trump, but added the company remains on track.

Elon Musk, wearing a red hat, looks on as US President Donald Trump hosts a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“I encourage people to look beyond the bumps and potholes of the road immediately ahead of us,” Musk said. “Lift your gaze to the bright shining citadel on the hill — I don’t know, some Reagan-esque imagery — and that’s where we’re headed.” (RELATED: ‘Tell Your People To Stop Firebombing’ Tesla Facilities, Fox Host Tells Democratic Strategist)

Protests targeting Musk and Tesla escalated in March, with some charging stations vandalized and set ablaze. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that three suspects will be prosecuted for using Molotov cocktails to destroy Tesla property, adding they will “face the full force of the law.”

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – MARCH 30: Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall meeting wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center on March 30, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

After Trump took office in January, his administration directed Musk and DOGE to review federal spending and pinpoint areas where taxpayer dollars could be saved. In February, criticism from Democrats intensified after Musk said on X that he and Trump had agreed to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Musk said the agency was squandering billions in taxpayer funds. He also said that some USAID-backed initiatives pushed a far-left agenda abroad and risked indirectly supporting extremist groups and controversial foreign institutions.

Musk and DOGE did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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