Elon Musk has officially stepped down as the head of the Digital and Energy Governance Efficiency Agency (DOGE) under the Trump administration, bringing to an end his brief 130-day political career. This cross-border experience not only significantly reduced his personal wealth, but also sparked widespread controversy over tech giants’ involvement in the political core.
Elon Musk posted on the X platform, officially announcing his resignation from the government position and expressing his gratitude to former President Trump for his support during his tenure as the leader of the DOGE department. As my scheduled term as a special government employee comes to an end, Musk wrote, “I would like to thank President Trump for giving me this opportunity to commit to reducing the government’s wasteful spending.” He also expressed his belief that “the mission of DOGE will continue to be strengthened and eventually become a regular part of the government’s work.”
This political journey, which began on January 20th of this year, has been accompanied by huge public pressure and business risks from the very beginning.
As a high-profile supporter of Trump during his 2024 campaign, Musk has become an important force in Trump’s camp thanks to his influence in the tech industry. After taking office, he was appointed as the head of the newly established Digital and Energy Governance Efficiency Agency (DOGE), aiming to streamline government processes, reduce waste and promote the application of digital technologies such as AI.
As DOGE is not a formal cabinet department but a temporary agency directly under the presidential office, Musk’s status as a special government employee has quickly raised strong doubts. The public is concerned that it blurs the boundary between commercial interests and public policies, which may serve its affiliated enterprises (such as Tesla, SpaceX, X platform, etc.).
This unease spread rapidly. Tesla was the first to be hit, encountering consumer protests and boycotts as well as serious warnings from investors about political risks, which led to frequent fluctuations in its stock price and a significant reduction in its market value. Musk once helplessly said, “It’s not very interesting to be attacked ruthlessly, and it’s not fun to see cars burning either.”
Musk’s political journey has not been smooth sailing. The core concept he advocated for cutting government waste has collided fiercely with the political reality in Washington.
On May 21st, the House of Representatives passed the comprehensive Bill “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which was strongly promoted by Trump, by a narrow margin. The bill covers a wide range of areas such as taxation, welfare, national defense and immigration. However, according to the estimation of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will cause the federal fiscal deficit to surge by approximately 3.8 trillion US dollars in the next ten years.
Musk expressed strong disappointment with this bill. This is the first time he has publicly disagreed with Trump on a major issue. This bill not only failed to reduce the budget deficit, but instead further widened the fiscal gap. He criticized that it completely deviated from the reform direction promoted by the DOGE team. He was even more outspoken in pointing out: A bill can be grand or beautiful. But I don’t know if it can have both.
Under immense political pressure, Musk deeply felt that the DOGE department had become a “scapegoat”. Wherever there is a problem, someone will attribute the responsibility to us, even if we were not involved at all. He sighed, “I thought there were problems with the government system, but I didn’t expect it to be so bad.” His opposing remarks have aroused strong dissatisfaction among senior White House officials, especially Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and others.
Within DOGE, Musk’s radical style of doing things has also caused frictions with some cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary Scott Byssent. The dispute over the appointment and removal of personnel (Trump clearly stated that the power lies with department heads rather than Musk) has further restricted his reform proposals everywhere.
It is reported that Musk did not even have formal communication with Trump himself before announcing his resignation, and the decision to step down was made by the senior staff of the White House. In fact, he had expressed his intention to leave many times before leaving office.
Musk publicly promised that in the future, he would significantly reduce his investment in the political field, spending less money and time.
“I might have devoted too much energy to political affairs in the past,” he admitted. “In the future, I will significantly reduce related expenditures and participation in this regard…” Meanwhile, my investment in Tesla and SpaceX is clearly insufficient. He emphasized that media coverage of his political participation has an amplifying effect.
Musk disclosed that in the weeks leading up to the recent prototype test flight of SpaceX’s Starship, he had significantly reduced the time allocated to government affairs and quietly shifted his focus.
On May 13th, Musk made an appearance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and visited a model of a city under construction together with Commerce Minister Howard Lutnik, seemingly setting his sights on broader international business cooperation. Meanwhile, his vast technology empire is advancing on multiple fronts:
Tesla has reached a cooperation with Microsoft to deploy the new version of the *Grok AI chatbot in Microsoft’s data centers, enhancing computing power and stability. Neuralink is accelerating its progress, preparing to implant its device into dozens of subjects, taking a crucial step towards commercialization and “human-machine integration”.
The development of Tesla’s humanoid robot project is accelerating. Musk firmly believes that it will soon be launched on the market, reshaping homes, industries and services.
Musk’s brief trip to Washington ended with shrinking wealth and ideological setbacks, profoundly revealing the complexity and risks of business tycoons venturing into core politics. With his resolute withdrawal, he has fully devoted his energy and resources to cutting-edge technology fields such as Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and AI, and a larger and more focused “technology universe” is accelerating its construction. The hustle and bustle in the political arena has become an interlude. Perhaps the journey to the stars and the vast ocean is the true “normal state” in Musk’s heart.
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