Trump Says Musk Will Likely Leave Government in ‘A Few Months’

‘There’s going to be a point where he’s going to have to leave,’ the president recently said.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, alongside Musk's son X Æ A-Xii, speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump said that presidential special adviser Elon Musk is likely to leave the administration in “a few months.”

In response to questions about when Musk could leave, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on April 3 that “Elon is fantastic” but he has “a number of companies to run.” Musk is a special government employee, meaning he has to leave 130 days after he assumes the position.

“I want him to stay as long as possible,” he said. “There’s going to be a point where he’s going to have to leave.”

Musk joined the government as Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January through an executive order. Since then, DOGE has gone from agency to agency to look into what it calls fraud, abuse, and waste. Its work has been stymied by multiple federal judges in recent days.

Other than court rulings against DOGE, Musk faced a setback on April 1 in Wisconsin, where voters rejected a state Supreme Court candidate he endorsed after he spent more than $21 million in personal donations and made a campaign appearance over the weekend.

The billionaire entrepreneur’s electric automaker, Tesla, also saw a 13 percent drop in sales in the first three months of the year.

In comments on April 6, Musk said that his work in the Trump administration is harming Tesla’s stock and that protests and attacks against Tesla properties and cars could be partially to blame. As of April 4 trading, Tesla’s stock had dropped by more than 36 percent since the start of 2025, although the company’s shares have increased by 41 percent year-over-year.

Musk separately told Bret Baier of Fox News on March 27 that DOGE is on track to achieve its goal before his term as a special government employee is up.

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” he said.

Vice President JD Vance said that Musk will continue to provide them advice after leaving the government.

“DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves. But fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president,” Vance told Fox News in an interview on April 3.

Politico and other media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported on April 2 that Trump had told members of his Cabinet that Musk will soon depart and return to the private sector.

The White House disputed those reports.

“Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete,” Leavitt wrote in a post on social media platform X.

The White House has not disclosed any clear timeline for closing down DOGE. The government cost-cutting organization was never intended to become a permanent fixture in Washington. It was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026.

DOGE was initially envisioned as an independent advisory panel, with Musk sharing leadership with Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur. Ramaswamy, a Republican, dropped out and is running for governor of Ohio, and DOGE became part of the government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.