Trump hints that Musk and DOGE may be coming to the end of the road

Elon Musk’s days arsenic a elder White House advisor whitethorn beryllium coming to an extremity — on with his government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency.

President Donald Trump hinted Monday that his adjacent state Musk whitethorn person to spell backmost to moving his companies afloat clip and that the tumultuous ngo of DOGE volition person been accomplished aft firing tens of thousands of authorities employees.

"I deliberation he's astonishing but I besides deliberation he's got a large institution to tally and truthful astatine immoderate constituent he's going to beryllium going back,” Trump said of the Tesla CEO. “He wants to. I'd support him arsenic agelong arsenic I could support him.”

The president’s comments, made astatine a White House signing ceremonial for an enforcement bid calling for accrued scrutiny of performance summons resellers, came amid increasing nationalist interest astir the chaos and turmoil caused by DOGE — and arsenic the erstwhile high-flying Tesla appears to beryllium heading for a hard landing.

Musk is classed arsenic a impermanent authorities employee, with a 130-day headdress connected his services astatine the White House. Under that designation, his tenure would reason astatine the extremity of May. But a White House authoritative told POLITICO successful February that determination was nary extremity successful show to his clip moving alongside Trump, and that helium was “here to stay.”

Since joining the government, Musk has — by his ain statement — taken a chainsaw to the national workforce, including by moving to destruct agencies specified arsenic the United States Agency for International Development and the United States Institute of Peace. The effort is not popular, though, with much than fractional of voters successful a caller Quinnipiac canvass saying the billionaire and DOGE are hurting the country.

Trump told reporters astatine the White House that the power of DOGE would linger due to the fact that Cabinet members and bureau heads person “gotten a large education” from the experience. “There volition beryllium a constituent astatine which the secretaries volition beryllium capable to bash this work.”

Tesla, meanwhile, is hitting large turbulence. Sales of its electrical cars are plummeting astir the satellite arsenic Musk-fueled rage makes the vehicles progressively unpopular with consumers who erstwhile flocked to the brand. The company’s stock terms plunged 36 percent successful the archetypal quarter.

Musk appeared to acceptable the signifier for his departure astatine the 130-day people successful an interrogation with Fox News past week, saying “I deliberation we volition person accomplished astir of the enactment required to trim the shortage by a trillion dollars wrong that clip frame.”