Elon Musk leaves his official role in Trump’s White House—but not really

Elon Musk wrapped up his time with President Trump’s administration on Friday with a lengthy press conference during which both men heaped praise on one another in what seemed like an attempt to shut down any suggestions of friction between them.

Trump said that despite his status of special government employee ending Friday, Musk is “really not leaving.”

“He’s going to be back and forth, I think,” Trump told reporters in the ornately embellished Oval Office. He added that DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) was Musk’s “baby.”

Musk stood by Trump, sporting a bruise near his eye he said was from “horsing around” with his 5-year-old son. When asked about his future role in government, Musk deferred to the president.

“I expect to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like advice,” he said. “I expect to remain a friend and an adviser, and certainly if there’s anything the president wants me to do, I’m at the president’s service.”

A 130-day experiment in government disruption

The conference marked the end of one of the most turbulent governmental periods in U.S. history. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars on Trump’s campaign, for the past 130 days Musk held a spot as one of the president’s most visible employees.

In that role, he powered an efficiency drive that he said was meant to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget by October 1. During that process, DOGE cut wide swaths of important government agencies, amassed a number of lawsuits on the legality of its actions, and is still far short of its budget-cutting goal.

At the same time, the public perception of Musk and his handful of companies dropped. Investors voiced concerns that Musk was spending too much time in Washington, D.C., rather than focusing on running his businesses. Tesla, for example, has struggled with lagging sales in Europe and China, and saw consumer protests at its showrooms across the globe, from Australia and New Zealand to Europe and the U.S.

“This ends a dark chapter for Musk and Tesla,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in an email. Tesla stock is set to end the month up more than 24%.