Elon Musk Planning To Quit DOGE? Tesla CEO Drops Hint, Says 'I'm Done'

US President Donald Trump's billionaire ally, Elon Musk, has indicated that he plans to step down from his cost-cutting position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by the end of May, having reduced the US deficit by $1 trillion and trimmed overall federal spending to approximately $6 trillion.

The 53-year-old Tesla chief, along with several senior aides at DOGE, appeared on Fox News' 'Special Report with Bret Baier', where they discussed their work to improve America's financial standing and how they are nearing their target of halving the annual federal deficit.

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Musk, who was appointed as a special adviser to President Trump to lead the administration's cost-cutting efforts, said that "he's done".

He explained that his team had been averaging "$4 billion a day" in savings and was on track to complete "most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within 130 days."

"I think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within [130 days]," Musk told Baier when asked how quickly he expected to meet his target.

"Our goal is to reduce the waste and fraud by $4 billion a day, every day, seven days a week. And so far, we are succeeding...Unless this exercise is successful, the ship of America will sink," he added.

This suggests that Musk could wrap up his leadership of DOGE as early as the end of May.

The DOGE chief and his team of seven - Aram Moghaddassi, Steve Davis, Brad Smith, Anthony Armstrong, Joe Gebbia, Tom Krause, and Tyler Hassen - further outlined their work in cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across a range of government departments.

"The government is not efficient, and there is a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15 per cent reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services," Musk stated.

According to DOGE estimates, the department's measures - which include workforce reductions, asset sales, and contract cancellations - have already saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24.

"America will be solvent," Musk declared. "The critical programs that people depend upon will work, and it's going to be a fantastic future. And are we going to get a lot of complaints along the way? Absolutely."

Musk's Statement Follows Tesla Protests

Musk's comments regarding his departure from the DOGE role came amid nationwide protests against Tesla, his electric vehicle firm. In recent weeks, Tesla's share price has taken a hit, dropping by more than 5 per cent last Monday.

Speaking to employees in Austin last Thursday, Musk acknowledged: "I'm stretched pretty thin. I have like 17 jobs."

Referring to attacks and vandalism aimed at Tesla, he admitted it sometimes "feels like Armageddon" when watching the coverage on television.

"There are times when there are rocky moments, a little bit of stormy weather...But what I'm here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting, and we're going to do things that no one, I think, has even dreamed of," he assured staff.

Musk is also currently facing several lawsuits alleging that DOGE operated without legal authority and infringed on privacy laws. Despite mounting criticism over the disruption caused by the department's actions, Musk has staunchly defended DOGE's work.