Politico reported the Tesla CEO would soon return to the private sector, triggering a rally in shares of the beleaguered carmaker. Not so fast, says Musk.

After months as Trump's austerity czar, Musk is stepping away from government—but not before torching his own brand.

Tesla sales have plummeted to their lowest level in three years after a backlash against its boss Elon Musk. The electric car maker delivered almost 337,000 electric vehicles in the first three months of 2025, a 13% drop from a year ago. Tesla shares tumbled in early trading on Wednesday after the release of the low sales numbers.

JD Vance has dismissed reports Elon Musk is being sidelined by Donald Trump. The vice president said Mr Musk will “remain a friend and advisor to me and the president” even after his 130 days as a “special government employee” are up.

On April 2, 2025, multiple news outlets reported that anonymous White House insiders told them U.S. President Donald Trump had privately announced Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and Trump adviser, would step back from his role in the coming weeks or months.

President Trump told reporters this week that DOGE chief Elon Musk has done an “amazing” job, but noted that the Tesla CEO has “got a big company to run.”

Billionaire Elon Musk will remain a friend and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, even after he leaves his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, Vance said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

It was a post from Elon Musk, originally published hours earlier. “This is the first time humans have been in orbit around the poles of the Earth!” he wrote. Underneath his post was a video shared by SpaceX—footage of craggy ice caps,

President Donald Trump gave billionaire adviser Elon Musk a fresh endorsement on Thursday amid criticism of Musk's government reduction project and said he can stay "as long as he likes" but will eventually return to his businesses.

Elon Musk will "remain a friend and an adviser" of President Donald Trump after the Tesla CEO leaves his current role with the Department of Government Efficiency, Vice President JD Vance has said. Vance said in an interview earlier on Thursday that DOGE had a significant amount of work to do and would continue without Musk at some point.

Should Elon Musk leave DOGE soon, it would be a stark reversal from March, when Trump was looking to extend Musk’s stay.

Elon Musk isn’t leaving politics anytime soon, if his X posts are to be believed. Democrats, meanwhile, rallied behind the news, with DNC chair Ken Martin saying “We should put Elon Musk into every state” and Wisconsin Democratic Party chief Ben Wikler urging Musk to stay in the Trump administration and keep talking.