President Donald Trump has told his Cabinet and inner circle that Elon Musk is stepping back from his government role.
The Tesla and Space X founder will soon be returning to the business world, Politico reported, in a move that rattled the stock market and caused shock waves in Washington.
It was a joint decision between the two men and Trump said he remains happy with Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency.
But Musk has become a controversial figure due to his slash and burn style of cutting down the federal government. He also just sank $20 million into Wisconsin‘s Supreme Court race only to have his candidate lose.
And stock in Tesla has dropped sharply with sales down and car lots being set on fire.
The report Musk is going back to his business roots did send his company share soaring.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump with a Tesla cyber truck on South Lawn of White House
Musk’s work to cut the size of the federal government has resulted in mass firings and lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Additionally, his unpredictability now has many seeing him as a political liability.
Publicly Trump has supported Musk. He even turned the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla show room after the company stock sank.
The president wrote Musk a check for one of the electric cars.
But privately Trump has told his Cabinet that they are in charge of each of their departments, not Musk.
Elon Musk is designated as a ‘special government employee,’ which has a 130-day time limit
Musk is designated as a ‘special government employee,’ which has a 130-day time limit.
Many were worried Trump would find a way around that restriction but it appears the president is ready to let go of the man who spent $200 million to get him elected.
Musk will likely still have regular access to Trump and an open invitation to the Oval Office.