New Delhi: Elon Musk, the renowned space and technology entrepreneur, has officially ended his tenure as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration. Musk expressed gratitude to President Trump for the opportunity to work on reducing government wasteful spending.
Throughout his time leading DOGE, Musk aimed to embed efficiency as a core governmental principle. However, his departure follows his recent public criticism of President Trump's signature spending bill, which Musk argued increases the budget deficit and contradicts the goals of the department. Musk remarked, "A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion."
As Trump's largest campaign donor in 2024, Musk was a prominent figure during the election campaign and remained closely involved during the early days of the administration. Trump praised Musk as "a star is born" in his victory speech.
During his leadership, DOGE aggressively pursued cost-cutting initiatives, resulting in the removal of tens of thousands of government employees from payrolls and the downsizing or closure of several departments. Musk recruited high-capacity individuals committed to a rigorous work ethic to accomplish these reforms. Nevertheless, Musk reportedly clashed with senior Trump officials regarding the department's operations.
By late April, Musk began to retreat from his governmental role, citing DOGE becoming a "whipping boy" for public dissatisfaction with the administration and acknowledging that not all objectives were met. His departure also coincides with ongoing legal challenges; a U.S. District Judge ordered Musk to face a lawsuit alleging he wielded illegal authority as DOGE chief, alongside cases attempting to limit DOGE's access to sensitive government data.
Simultaneously, Musk shifted focus back to his business ventures amid challenges including arson attacks on Tesla dealerships, declining Tesla stock prices, and recent setbacks at SpaceX, notably the Starship's explosion during its ninth test flight. Additionally, Musk highlighted the need for operational improvements following a two-hour outage on his social media platform, X.
