Elon Musk has officially wrapped up his short stint in the U.S. government. On May 30, 2025, his role as a Special Government Employee came to an end, hitting the 130-day legal limit for such positions.
The White House’s official account on X announced today, “President Trump presents @ElonMusk with a gold key to the White House for his service.”
While the time limit was the formal reason for Musk’s exit, behind the scenes, there were growing tensions. Musk had criticized President Trump’s tax bill, butted heads with cabinet members, and reportedly struggled with the pace and red tape of federal agencies. He also wanted to return full focus to his businesses, including Tesla, which is dealing with softening sales.
Despite stepping down, Musk is expected to remain an informal adviser to Trump.
House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly thanked Musk, posting: “Thank you, @ElonMusk, for your selfless, patriotic service…The @DOGE team dug through bureaucracy and exposed MASSIVE waste, fraud, and abuse…They’ve saved Americans BILLIONS.”
DOGE, the team Musk led, was created to find inefficiencies in government systems. Johnson added that Congress plans to use their findings to eliminate outdated programs and prevent future misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Tesla shares ticked up 0.12% in after-hours trading following the news.
