Elon Musk says reports he will step down from Trump's government 'fake news'

3 April 2025, 10:03

Elon Musk said he won't leave his government role at the end of May, despite reports that it's been discussed with Trump.

Donald Trump reportedly told members of his inner circle Elon Musk is set to exit the president's cabinet in the "coming weeks".

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said it was "garbage".

She added: "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."

Musk responded to the reports on Twitter: "Yeah, fake news."

NBC News reported that Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a "special government employee" and depart on May 30, an official source said.

Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, oversaw massive cuts to the federal government since Trump took office, with thousands of workers losing their jobs in the process.

One senior administration official told Politico that Musk will retain an informal role as an adviser after quitting the cabinet.

Another warned that anyone thinking Musk will give up his position entirely is “fooling themselves.”

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Musk's reported exit comes after wide-ranging reports that those close to Trump have become increasingly frustrated with the Telsa boss in recent weeks, pointing to his unpredictability.

This potential exit marks a stark shift in the Trump-Musk relationship, with many believing just weeks ago that the Tesla owner was "here to stay."

Earlier this week, Trump hinted Musk would leave the cabinet "at some point".

"I think he's amazing, but I also think he's got a big company to run and so at some point he's going to be going back," Trump said."

He wants to. I'd keep him as long as I could keep him."

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It comes as Tesla sales have plummeted to their lowest levels in three years.

This Is bad news for the electric car marker as Trump announced "Liberation Day" on Wednesday night, where he announced tariffs on a slew of countries across the globe, including the UK.

Tesla delivered around 337,000 electric vehicles in the first three months of this year, marking a 13% year-on-year drop.

Tesla shares have also tumbled as people across the globe rally against the company’s hard-right owner, Elon Musk, and his close ties to Donald Trump.

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The company’s struggles come amid rising competition from Chinese car company BYD - which offers cheaper alternatives to Musk’s Teslas.

But experts have also suggested Musk’s relationship with Trump and his efforts to slash government spending, resulting in thousands of people losing their jobs, have also played a role in tumbling sales.

Since Musk began leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Tesla dealerships have been vandalised and owners have had their vehicles damaged.

Elon Musk has branded these protests “domestic terrorism” and claimed they are supported by the Democratic Party.

"We are not going to look at these numbers with rose colored glasses... they were a disaster on every metric," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said on Wednesday.

"The more political [Musk] gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate."