Elon Musk Steps Down from DOGE, Remains Advisor

After just 130 days, Elon Musk is stepping down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the experimental agency he led under President Trump. Musk’s exit comes amid widespread criticism that his so-called reforms had little tangible impact.

Elon Musk claimed to have saved the U.S. government billions by cutting inefficiencies, but independent audits revealed that many of his savings were overstated or unverifiable. Legal challenges and internal confusion plagued his tenure. Despite this, Trump praised Musk’s ambition and confirmed he will remain a senior advisor.

Musk, who leads Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), will now focus more on his private ventures, though he’s expected to stay involved in federal AI and space policy advising.

The DOGE department was a bold Trump initiative intended to bring private-sector efficiency into federal agencies. Critics argue the idea was flawed from the start, as government processes involve complex oversight and regulations that don’t easily align with a corporate mindset.

Still, some believe Musk’s tenure sparked much-needed conversations about modernizing bureaucratic systems. Whether any of his pilot projects—like automating federal forms with AI—will continue remains unclear.