TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, left the administration of US President Donald Trump after a difficult period to restructure the federal government. This was confirmed by a White House official on Wednesday night.
A White House official said, as reported by CBS News that Musk has indeed left the administration and "his departure will begin tonight".
Musk's departure marks the end of a tumultuous period that included thousands of layoffs, dismantling of government agencies, and numerous legal disputes. Despite the turmoil, the billionaire entrepreneur struggled in an unfamiliar Washington environment and did not achieve what he had hoped for.
On Wednesday, Musk thanked Trump as his tenure as a special government employee as part of the Government Efficiency Department will soon come to an end, he said in a post on the X social media platform.
"As my tenure as a Special Government Employee will soon come to an end, I want to express my thanks to President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce expenditure waste," he wrote. "@DOGE's mission will only grow stronger over time as this mission becomes part of life across the government."
He drastically reduced his target for expenditure reduction - from US$2 trillion to US$1 trillion to US$150 billion - and increasingly expressed frustration about the rejection of his goals.
At times, he clashed with other senior Trump administration members, who were frustrated with the newcomer's efforts to reshape their departments, and he faced harsh political backlash for his efforts.
Musk's role working for Trump was always intended to be temporary, and he recently hinted that he will refocus his attention to run his businesses, such as the electric car maker Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX.
However, government officials often remained uncertain about when Musk would step down from his pioneering role at the Government Efficiency Department, known as DOGE, and he suddenly revealed that he would resign in a post on X, his social media website.
Musk's 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration will end on May 30. The Trump administration said DOGE's efforts to restructure and downsize the federal government will continue.
"DOGE's mission will only grow stronger over time as it becomes a way of life across the government," Musk said.
Trump and DOGE have cut nearly 12 percent, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million federal civilian workforce largely through threats of dismissal and offers of early retirement, according to a Reuters review.
Before leaving, Musk on Tuesday criticized the costs of tax and budget bills being discussed in the US Congress.
"Honestly, I am disappointed to see a large spending bill that increases the budget deficit, not just reduce it, and undermine the work done by the DOGE team," Musk told CBS News.
Musk's political activities have sparked protests and some investors have urged Musk to leave his advisory role to Trump and manage Tesla more closely.
Musk, the richest person in the world, has defended his role as an unelected official given unprecedented power by Trump to dismantle parts of the US government.
Editor's Choice: As Tesla Struggles, Elon Musk Plans to Step Away from Trump Administration
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