Elon Musk draws flak as bombshell report claims Trump privately signaled Tesla owner's exit from DOGE

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has suggested to his top advisors that tech Billionaire and DOGE chair Elon Musk might step back from his current role within the federal administration, ABC News reported on Wednesday, April 2, sparking online backlash against Musk.

After spending millions to help Trump get elected to the White House for a second term, Musk was rewarded with a newly created department to oversee government spending and was granted the status of a "special government employee." Such an appointment cannot exceed more than 130 days, with Musk's term coming to an end at the start of June.

While it was initially rumored that the White House was looking into ways to make Musk stay, things are now reportedly different, as Musk has been receiving backlash over the functioning of DOGE. The department has slashed funding across various departments, which has resulted in thousands of federal employees becoming unemployed.

Donald Trump's comments on Elon Musk leaving his administration

According to a Politico report, the incumbent has been paving the way for Elon Musk to step back from his central role in the federal administration after many of Trump's allies started to consider the Tesla CEO as a political liability.

The feeling intensified as a conservative judge lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points after Musk spent millions on his campaign.

While Trump has shared nothing but praises for Musk in public, he reportedly told attendees during the March 24 cabinet meeting that Musk would be transitioning out of the administration. Later, in front of reporters, he continued to praise Musk, who attended the meeting wearing a MAGA cap.

"Elon, I want to thank you — I know you’ve been through a lot,” Trump said before calling him “a patriot” and “a friend of mine.”

On Monday night, the POTUS echoed a similar sentiment, telling reporters that “at some point, Elon’s gonna want to go back to his company,” adding, “He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him.”

After the Wisconsin election results were declared on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated, "As the President said, this White House would love to keep Elon around for as long as possible. Elon has been instrumental in executing the President’s agenda and will continue this good work until the President says otherwise.”

With Musk himself claiming that he and his DOGE team would likely "have accomplished most of the work" within 130 days of his appointment, a senior official believes that he would retain an informal role as an adviser moving forward.

Elon Musk under fire amid claims of stepping back from his role

Netizens reacting to the news on the social media platform X shared a variety of takes on the subject. The following tweets demonstrate some of the predominant ones.

"He will still be lurking in the shadows," wrote a user.

"He has to step back. He has been stealing the spotlight away from JD," shared another.

"Well at least he acted like an idiot, made trump look bad and didnt save us any money," noted a third.

"Good riddance, Elon," jibed a fourth with a GIF.

"Should have been done sooner. Hopefully next is Trump himself haha," said another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.