Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be leaving soon, but he can’t leave soon enough

It’s the question that has remained on the tip of our collective tongues ever since Donald Trump forgot to put his hand on the Bible on Inauguration Day; when is Elon Musk leaving?

Well, it seems that question has been answered, at least according to reports about the president’s plans for his favorite special government employee. Various outlets have reported that Musk will leave the Trump administration by the end of the month, in keeping with the expiry of his 130-day limit as a special government employee. The reports have been corroborated by members of the administration, including Trump himself, though some sources claim the billionaire will remain peripherally within Trump’s orbit indefinitely. 

“I think Elon Musk is amazing but I also think he got a big company to run, so at some point he’s going to be going back. He’s a very talented guy. He’s very smart and has done a good job”

Trump pic.twitter.com/kQLWOBhuYP

— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) March 31, 2025

A senior government official told NBC News on Wednesday that Musk will depart from his role in the White House once his work as the co-leader of DOGE is completed. In case you forgot, that department has been engaged in a controversial, months-long effort to slash government spending, with its impacts felt across multiple federal agencies including the Department of Education, Labor, USAID, the Treasury and many others. While the completion date of his DOGE work is unclear, Musk’s tenure as a special government employee is up on May 30. 

Trump hinted towards Musk’s departure from the administration earlier this week. “I think he’s been amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “At some point, he’s going to be going back [to his businesses]. He wants to.” The president then added that he’d “keep [Musk] as long as I could keep him.” For her part, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post that the billionaire will “depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.” 

Yeah, fake news https://t.co/nPhTpZj3Fc

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2025

While it’s all certainly pointing towards a Musk Exodus, Politico reports that Musk will still be loosely involved in the administration in a supporting role (the Oscar for Worst Supporting Government Employee goes to…). According to the outlet, who heard from three anonymous White House sources, both Trump and Musk have agreed that the billionaire’s administration days are limited, but claimed that anyone thinking he’ll disappear entirely from the Trump camp is “fooling themselves.”

Apparently, Trump is mindful of next year’s midterms, and has kept a watchful eye of the public’s distaste for Musk and DOGE at town halls when considering the billionaire’s White House exit. Given Trump’s tendency to defy law and order — evidenced recently by his floating of plans for a third presidential term — it remains to be seen whether he will abide by the special government employee expiry date. However, some have argued that much of the DOGE damage has already been done, given the department’s aggressive moves in recent months.

BREAKING: Elon Musk will reportedly step down from his role with Trump in the coming weeks. It’s unknown if this means he will leave DOGE or not.

— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) April 2, 2025

From email blasts demanding that employees list their work accomplishments or risk being fired to accidental cuts to Ebola prevention programs, it’ll be nice to see Musk’s DOGE efforts firmly in the rear-view mirror. Then again, that Tesla infomercial on the White House lawn will live on in political infamy, and we’ll probably still hear from Musk on the wasteland that is his social media platform, X. Good riddance, I say!