Musk thanks President Trump as he leaves government service

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday night thanked President Donald Trump in a social media post, as his involvement in the federal government winds down.

Musk was designated a "special government employee" on Inauguration Day, which allows civilians to work for the federal government for 130 days a year. The designation was given so Musk could lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while still keeping his main jobs outside the government. The status is expected to expire on May 30. 

The multi-billionaire thanked Trump for allowing him to lead DOGE, which was tasked with greatly reducing federal spending, and helping the government run more efficiently. The department will still continue without Musk at the helm. 

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk posted on X. "DOGE's mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

Musk is expected to allocate more time to Tesla and his social media platform X, after the platform experienced a surge in outages in recent days, and Tesla's stock has plummeted due to protests over DOGE cuts to the federal workforce. 

“Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” Musk posted Saturday. “I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out."

A White House official confirmed to Reuters that Musk left government service on Wednesday.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.