Trump tells Cabinet, others that Musk will step back from government roles

3/4/2025 6:14

U.S. President Donald

Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts

that his billionaire ally Elon Musk will soon step back from his

government role, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing three

people close to Trump.



Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with

leading efforts to cut government funding and dismantle various

U.S. agencies as a special government employee. Politico

reported that both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that

Musk will soon return to his businesses, but gave no specific

date.



Representatives for the White House, the Musk-led task force

and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on

the report.



Shares of some companies, including government contracting

companies, rose following the report. Shares of Musk's Tesla,

which were down 2% in early trading after a

sharper-than-expected fall in first-quarter deliveries, reversed

course and were up 3%.



Trump and Musk have both recently indicated that Musk would

move on but have not said when.



Asked if he wanted Musk to stay longer than his 130-day

term, Trump told reporters on Monday: "I think he's amazing, but

I also think he's got a big company to run. At some point, he's

going to be going back. He wants to."



Based on a 130-day term, Musk's time as a special government

employee would be set to end as soon as the end of May. He told

Fox News last week that he was confident he would finish most of

the work to cut $1 trillion in federal spending.