Musk Makes Bombshell Decision to Step Back from DOGE

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on an investors’ call Tuesday that his time as a full-time employee of the Department of Government Efficiency is coming to a close.

“The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working in the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done, and I think, starting probably next month — May — my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” he said.

“I’ll have to continue doing it for probably the remainder of the President [Donald Trump]’s term, just to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stopped does not come roaring back, which it will do if it has the chance,” Musk added.

“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 is useful. But starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla, and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” the CEO said.

🚨 ELON MUSK: “The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place is mostly done, and I think, starting probably next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly.

I’ll have to continue DOGE for I think we’ve laid the remainder of the President’s term… pic.twitter.com/h6kLyvX8uS

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 22, 2025

As for Tesla itself, Musk noted his company had been on the “ragged edge of death at least, maybe, a dozen times,” he asserted. “This is not one of those times.”

CNBC reported that Tesla’s revenue plunged 20 percent during the first quarter, compared to the same quarter last year. Further, Tesla’s stock is down 41 percent so far in 2025.

Tesla experienced widespread protests, at times becoming violent, across the U.S. in response to Musk’s work slashing federal government programs and spending through DOGE.

Musk defended his government work, telling investors, “There’s been some blowback for the time that I’ve been spending in government with DOGE. I think the work that we’re doing there is actually very important for trying to rein in the insane deficit that is leading our country, United States, to destruction.”

🚨 ELON MUSK: “There’s been some blowback for the time that I’ve been spending in government with DOGE. I think the work that we’re doing there is actually very important for trying to bring in the insane deficit that is being a country, United States to destruction.

DOGE team… pic.twitter.com/m837NgU1w2

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 22, 2025

“I believe the right thing to do is to fight the waste and fraud and get the country back on the right track, and working together with President Trump and his administration. Because if the ship of America goes down, we all go down with it, Tesla and everyone else,” Musk said.

Musk’s comments come as some House Democrats have launched a campaign to pressure him to leave his role as a special government employee by the end of May.

Earlier this month, Fox News host Bret Baier asked Musk whether he planned to continue past the 130-day mark allotted for special government employees.

He responded, “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame.”

Based on his comments to investors Tuesday, it sounds like Musk envisions himself continuing in the DOGE work in a part-time status, perhaps as a government consultant.

Asked by reporters earlier this month whether he would appoint Musk to another position when his 130-day special employee window ends, Trump responded, “I would. I think Elon’s great, but he also has a company to run, or a number of companies to run.”

“We’re in no rush” to see him go, the president added, “but there will be a point at which time Elon’s going to have to leave.”

“Elon Musk will stay for a certain period of time & then he is going to want to get back to his businesses full time,” said US President Donald Trump, adding that Musk would step down from his DOGE role in a few months#donaldtrump #elonmusk #doge #us #cnbctv18digital #musk… pic.twitter.com/UWPMGyzejG

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 4, 2025

When questioned about a specific date, Trump answered, “I would think a few months.”

The president added that DOGE will remain in place after Musk leaves, and eventually, its work will fall under the individual cabinet secretaries.

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