Latest news with #SpecialGovernmentEmployee
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
So long, Elon: the cuts didn't go to plan, but you completely shredded your reputation
I can't believe that Elon Musk is leaving Doge, the government department he named after a tired and basic meme that most of the internet had moved on from around a decade ago. 'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end,' Musk wrote this week (capital letters: model's own), 'I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful government spending.' Oh man. 'Thank you for the opportunity'?! At some level you have to salute Donald Trump's ability to turn even the world's richest man into an Apprentice candidate who leaves in week four after completely wiping out in the hotdog stand task. Musk arrived in government promising to slash spending by $2tn. He leaves it a mere $1.86tn short of that target, even by his own estimations. Meanwhile, the president's new tax bill is set to add $2.3tn to the deficit. I imagine Musk thought his government finale would be a spectacular extravaganza – 'you're welcome, Washington!' – involving 2,000 chainsaw-wielding chorus girls. Instead, it's a tweet. And yes – we DO all still call them tweets. Ironically, the thing that Musk has been most stunningly effective at slashing is his own reputation. Think about it. He arrived in Trump's orbit as a somewhat mysterious man, widely regarded as a tech genius, and a titan of the age. He leaves it with vast numbers of people woken up to the fact he's a weird and creepy breeding fetishist, who desperately pretends to be good at video games, and wasn't remotely as key to Space X or Tesla's engineering prowess as they'd vaguely thought. Also, with a number of them apparently convinced he had a botched penile implant. Rightly or wrongly convinced – sure. I'm just asking questions. But look, it's good news for Tesla investors, who have managed to end Musk's practice of WFWH (working from White House), and are now demanding he puts in a 40-hour week to save the company whose stock he has spent the past few months tanking. As the world order dramatically seeks to rearrange itself in the new era of US unreliability, no one should ever be able to unsee the president of the United States's decision to turn the White House lawn into a car sales lot for his sad friend. Did it work? It seems not. Musk spent a lot of this week airing his hurt feelings about his brrm-brrm cars. 'People were burning Teslas,' he whined to Jeff Bezos's Washington Post this week. 'Why would you do that? That's really uncool.' Well, one thing we will no longer have to endure is this guy's decrees on what is or isn't cool. The timeworn thing about money and power is that they allow nerds to reinvent themselves as cool. You see it on Wall Street, where sea-beast financiers get manscaped by trophy wives who are no longer out of their league. You see it in Hollywood, where weird little guys become alpha movie producers. You see it in Bezos's transformation from puffy-chinos-wearing, dress-down-Friday dweeb to Bilderberg Vin Diesel impersonator. What you rarely see is the alchemy of that process in reverse, live and in real time. But we got that with Elon, and we have to take our laughs where we can. In some other businesses, Musk could have convinced himself it wasn't happening, but politics is a place where pollsters literally ask real people what they think of public figures every single week. Elon's approval ratings are underwater. No doubt we're this close to him identifying the real problem: that we simply need new voters. Musk has long been convinced that people don't know how to handle his genius in all fields. Four years ago, he hosted Saturday Night Live, and sometime afterwards revealed on a podcast how the cast and writers had reacted to the uncontainably hilarious suggestions made by him and his team of bros. 'We come in just, like, guns blazing with ideas,' he honked, explaining he'd pitched a … bit, is it? … where he was 'going to take my cock out. So I'm going to reach down into my pants … and then I pull out a baby rooster. Like, 'This is my tiny cock.'' Oh very good, sir. Absolute genius, sir. Presumably terrified that they would lose their jobs forever to this superlative talent, the SNL team declined to 'yes-and' this genius sketch into the final show running order, but Musk managed to get his own back – at least in his account of hosting an episode with a flattering 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 'There's a bunch of things that I said that were just not on the script. They have these cue cards for what you're supposed to say, and I just didn't say it. I just went off the rails.' Mm. Just like you have now. As for where Musk goes next, he's obviously building a Texan compound for the mothers of his many babies. But, psychologically, Mars would seem to be the answer. After a humiliation this big, only colonising another planet feels like the appropriately sized salve. It doesn't matter that Mars is an obvious shithole that looks like the least appealing disused quarry on Earth – a place so bleak and empty that if they found one single fossilised flower it would be celebrated like the holy grail, even though the impossible majesty of the Amazon rainforest is right here. But of course, the point of Mars is that it would be the place of Elon, Teslamandias, king of kings. And you know, I feel more confident than ever that we could all look upon his works and despair. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Trump says Elon Musk is 'terrific', to hold press conference with him on Friday
US President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk on Thursday and said he will hold a press conference with the billionaire, whose tenure in the administration is ending, on Friday at 1.30pm EST (1730 GMT) in the Oval Office. "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Elon is terrific!" Musk announced he was stepping down from his White House stint on Wednesday, giving Tesla investors some succor after shares slumped this year in part due to the backlash to his support of Trump and right-wing parties in Europe. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote on his social media platform X. The billionaire spearheaded Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, charged with cutting federal spending. On Tuesday, Musk criticised the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress. In addition, he had recently pledged to spend less money on politics after he plunked down nearly $300 million on Trump's presidential campaign and on other Republican candidates last year.
NHK
3 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Elon Musk leaving Trump administration after spearheading cost-cutting efforts
Billionaire Elon Musk has announced that he is leaving his government role. He noted that his time as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is coming to an end. In a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, Musk said that his "scheduled time as a Special Government Employee" is ending. He also thanked President Donald Trump for giving him the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. Musk added that the "DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." On the day in January that he was inaugurated, Trump signed an executive order that led to the establishment of DOGE. He also made Musk the head of the department. Musk was permitted to work for the government in that capacity for up to 130 days. Musk declared his support for Trump during Trump's campaign for the presidency last year. He earned the president's trust and wielded influence over the administration's policies. At the same time, mass layoffs of government employees sparked public anger. They also affected business at Musk's electric car company Tesla. In April, Musk said that he would significantly scale back his government work and focus more on running Tesla in May. He said much of his work at DOGE was done.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
‘Swasticars', chainsaws and MAGA: Elon Musk's turbulent White House stint ends in high-profile resignation
WASHINGTON, May 29 — Billionaire Elon Musk has said he is leaving his role in the US government, in which he was tasked with reducing federal spending, shortly after his first major break with Donald Trump over the president's signature spending bill. While classified as a 'special government employee' and 'senior advisor to the president,' the South African-born tycoon has left indelible marks on American politics as Trump's most visible backer. The 'Nazi' salute Being Trump's right-hand man took on a new meaning when the world's richest person made headlines by dramatically throwing out his arm – twice – at a rally celebrating Trump's January 20 inauguration. Standing at a podium bearing the presidential seal, Musk's right arm was straight, his hand open, his palm facing down. Historians agreed with Democratic politicians that the sharp gesture looked exactly like a Nazi salute. The Tesla boss -- whose electric vehicles were soon dubbed 'swasticars' by critics – dismissed the claims, posting on his X social media platform: 'The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired.' Tesla CEO Elon Musk was alleged to have performed a Nazi salute during the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. — AFP pic Whatever the display meant, Nazi-related jokes and memes dominated public reactions to the day meant to mark Trump's triumphant return to office. Endorsing Germany's extreme-right Hot off his salute shock, Musk participated virtually at a January rally for Germany's anti-immigration, ultra-nationalist AfD party. Musk told the crowd 'you really are the best hope' for Germany and urged them to be 'proud of German culture and German values.' His endorsement of the AfD shook mainstream German parties, which said they viewed it as foreign interference by Trump's advisor. Vandals burned four Teslas in the streets of Berlin afterward. Despite record gains at the polls, AfD ultimately took second place in the election behind Germany's conservatives. Brings kid to work Dressed down in MAGA hats and t-shirts, Musk became a near-constant presence in the White House. For a while, so did his four-year-old son named X. During Musk's first appearance before reporters since his arrival in Washington to run DOGE, the child was trotted out and Trump said: 'This is X and he's a great guy.' The boy was filmed picking his nose while his father boasted about his cost-cutting exploits while standing next to the Oval Office's Resolute Desk. Brings chainsaw to budget Unelected and unconfirmed by the Senate, Musk has repeatedly bashed the 'unelected, fourth unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy' and immediately made brutal cuts to the federal workforce and budget. To illustrate his management style, Musk donned sunglasses and brandished a chainsaw on stage at a conservative get-together in Washington. CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk wields a chainsaw as he leaves the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. — AFP pic It was handed to him – not turned on – by right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei, who made the machine a symbol of slashing bureaucracy and state spending in his own country. Overshadowing Trump's cabinet At Trump's first cabinet meeting on February 26, Musk had a starring role even though he is not part of the cabinet. He stood looming near a doorway, wearing a t-shirt with the words 'Tech Support' across the chest as the cabinet met. Even without a literal seat at the table Musk, who helped bankroll Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, overshadowed the country's most powerful officials. Trump downplayed this tension shortly before the meeting, posting on his social media platform: 'ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON.' Trump the Tesla salesman With Musk's Tesla car company taking a battering on the stock market and sales dropping sharply, and with vandals targeting his brand, the White House hosted a highly publicized test drive to boost Tesla's reputation. With a Tesla Cybertruck and a Model S parked on the South Portico, Trump and Musk mounted a sales pitch. Trump even said he had purchased one. The stunt didn't ultimately turn around Tesla's plummeting sales, with the electric vehicle maker reporting a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profits. Fails to sway court election Money can't buy you everything, Musk discovered, after pouring US$25 million into the most expensive court race in US history to try to get a pro-Trump Republican judge elected to Wisconsin's Supreme Court. Musk paid voters US$100 to sign a petition opposing 'activist judges' and even handed out US$1 million checks to voters, beseeching the public to select the conservative judge. The court's docket was packed with precedent-setting cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. The US state instead chose a liberal judge by a wide margin in April, dismaying the billionaire -- who had spent roughly US$277 million in 2024 in the national race to help get Trump elected. Tariff dissenter After Trump announced his sweeping US tariffs, deeply affecting major trading partners China and the European Union, Musk made the case for a free-trade zone between the United States and Europe. This clashes with Trump's trade policy. Shortly after, he called Trump's economic advisor Peter Navarro, a longtime advocate for trade barriers, 'dumber than a sack of bricks.' Navarro had taken aim at Tesla, saying the carmaker mostly sourced assembled major components from factories in Asia. Musk retorted with studies he said showed 'Tesla has the most American-made cars.' White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt tried to play down the public feud, saying that 'boys will be boys.' Big, Beautiful Bill Musk said he was 'disappointed' by Trump's divisive mega-bill, which offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts, in a rare split with the Republican president. The tech tycoon said the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act' – which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate – would increase the deficit and undermine the work of DOGE, which has fired tens of thousands of people. Critics warn the legislation will gut health care and balloon the national deficit by as much as US$4 trillion over a decade. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told CBS News. Musk announced he was quitting his US government role shortly after. — AFP
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Elon Musk announces exit from US government role after breaking with Trump on tax bill
Elon Musk has announced on social media that he is leaving his role in the Trump administration, a departure the White House confirmed was in process on Wednesday evening. 'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,' Musk wrote on X, his social media platform. 'The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.' A White House official told Reuters it was accurate Musk is leaving the administration and his 'off-boarding will begin tonight.' Musk, the world's richest person, has defended his role as an unelected official who was granted unprecedented authority by Trump to dismantle parts of the US government. His 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire around 30 May. Both Musk and the administration has said DOGE's efforts to restructure and shrink the federal government will continue. Musk has been signalling his departure from Washington, and his commitment to return his business ventures, all week. He sharply criticised Trump's spending plan, and expressed frustration with the response to the efforts of his signature 'department of government efficiency.' 'The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised,' Musk told the Washington Post on Tuesday. 'I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least.' He also told the Post that Doge had been turned into a 'whipping boy' that was criticised for anything that went wrong in the Trump White House. Trump and DOGE have managed to cut nearly 12%, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts and early retirement offers, a Reuters review of agency departures found. Musk on Tuesday criticised the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress. 'I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told CBS News. Musk's political activities have drawn protests and some investors have called for Musk to leave his work as Trump's adviser and manage Tesla more closely. Reuters and Nick Robbins-Early contributed reporting
