Trump Sends Off Elon Musk With Symbolic Key To The White House, Says He’s ‘Not Really Leaving’

President Donald Trump handed a symbolic White House key to Elon Musk on Wednesday, marking the end of Musk’s controversial yet high-profile tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

"Elon’s really not leaving," Trump said. "He’s going to be back and forth, I have a feeling. It’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things."

Musk, who served as a special government employee for nearly a year, was tasked with rooting out waste and inefficiency across the federal bureaucracy. His departure comes as he approaches the legal limit for such roles. 

While Musk had recently criticized elements of Trump’s tax-and-spending bill, both men appeared to put differences aside in a press conference heavy on praise and rhetoric.

“He’s one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced,” Trump said, touting DOGE’s efforts to eliminate what he described as "unbelievably stupid and unbelievably bad" spending.

Trump credited Musk and the DOGE team with uncovering billions in waste. Specific cuts included the cancellation of $101 million in DEI-related contracts at the Department of Education, $59 million in payments for hotel stays for undocumented immigrants in New York City, and $420 million in “social and behavioral change” programs in Uganda.

“We’ll remember you as we announce billions of dollars of extra waste, fraud, and abuse,” Trump told Musk, promising to make the DOGE cuts permanent and incorporate them into his proposed “Great Big Beautiful Bill.”

Musk, for his part, said the project was far from over.

“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” he said. “I liken it to Buddhism. It’s a way of life permeating through the government.”

Most of the DOGE team will remain in place, Trump confirmed, adding that “almost all of them are staying.” Musk, too, left open the door to future involvement.

“The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time,” Musk said.

Trump also lauded Musk’s leadership at Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX.

Tesla’s stock was down over 2% in afternoon trade on Friday amid broader market weakness. The shares have fallen nearly 10% this year but have nearly doubled in value over the past 12 months. 

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