Rumors started circulating about US President Donald Trump discussing the stepping down of Tesla CEO Elon Musk from his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with his “inner circle.”
There has always been confusion as to what role Musk played in Trump’s administration. Now, though, Trump has spoken out and addressed these circulating rumors about Musk.
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The rumors started with a report
It was a Politico report that started the questioning, where the report cited “three Trump insiders” reporting that both Trump and Musk had decided it would be time for Musk to leave despite Trump’s satisfaction with Musk’s performance as head of DOGE.
The reason behind the confusion
Ever since Trump took over the presidency, and Musk’s support of him has been no secret, but what role does the South African play in the administration?
The White House said he was a “senior advisor” to Trump, but the Tesla CEO was described elsewhere as a “special government employee,” which has created even more confusion.
The White House clarified the mystery
The White House clarified that Musk’s position is that of a special government employee (SGE). While rumors about him stepping down have been squashed, theoretically speaking an SGE’s period doesn’t exceed 130 days.
In other words, he is expected to step down as head of DOGE approximately on May 30.
Trump broke his silence
Trump addressed Musk’s departure while he was aboard Air Force One, telling reporters: “I want Elon to stay as long as possible,” according to the New York Post.
He even summed up why he liked Musk in three, straight-to-the-point reasons, saying: “Number one: I like him. Number two: He’s doing a great job. Number three: He is a patriot.”
He did admit that Musk’s departure might be inevitable
While the president said that he was in “no rush” for Musk to leave, he admitted that there may be a point in time when Musk will have to go, especially since he’s got Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies up his sleeve to tend to.
How the tariffs impacted Tesla
After Trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on “automobiles and certain automobile parts” imports, Tesla wrote a letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, explaining that some car parts are near impossible to source locally.
In addition, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”
What does that mean for Musk?
This means that for now, Musk is still the head of DOGE. For how long, though? No one knows.
Between the tariffs impacting Tesla negatively and Trump saying that he would appoint the “great” SpaceX founder in another position in the future, there is no solid answer to this question.
