The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has already informed his closest circle, and several members of the Government, that in the coming weeks the world's richest man, Elon Musk, will take several steps back and leave the unprecedented role he has held up to now, as head of the so-called DOGE, the efficiency department leading the cuts and layoffs in the administration, as a close advisor with full access, as a "co-president" of the country, as defined by his critics in Washington. This is reported on Wednesday by Politico, citing numerous sources within the Executive.
According to the exclusive report, "the President remains satisfied with Musk and his Government Department Efficiency initiative, but both have decided in recent days that the time is approaching for Musk to return to his businesses and assume a secondary role, according to three people close to Trump who requested anonymity to describe the evolution of the relationship."
"This 'scoop' is garbage. Elon Musk and President Trump have publicly stated that Elon will leave public service as a special government employee once he completes his incredible work at DOGE," reacted Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson.
Everyone in Washington, Europe, or Beijing had predicted last summer that the honeymoon between Trump and Musk was impossible, and that they would inevitably end up in conflict. It has not happened, and they themselves broke another precedent a few weeks ago by mocking the naysayers in the first-ever television interview between a president and an advisor without a clearly defined role or function.
But if Politico is correct, and the businessman begins to distance himself, it will be a significant turn, as less than a month ago the official message was that Musk "had come to stay" and that Trump would find a way to overcome the 130-day time limit that the legislation imposes for this atypical appointment, of someone who does not actually hold a high position in the administration and therefore is exempt from Senate confirmation hearings, FBI scrutiny, or signing against possible conflicts of interest.
According to the exclusive report, "Trump had already begun to soften the transition before, even at a cabinet meeting on March 24, where he announced to attendees that Musk would leave the administration, according to a close source." But the publication comes at a very significant moment. The same day that Tesla's stocks plummeted again after the company reported a 13% drop in car sales in the first quarter of the year, mainly due to the global rejection of the billionaire's ideological and political stance, who not only has been extraordinarily linked to Trump in the last nine months but has also engaged in activism involving himself in the affairs and elections of half the world, leaving millions of people furious and offended customers.
But that's not all. Trump's role has also sparked rejection in many sectors of the MAGA movement, Make America Great Again, and the Republican Party, whose members live in constant fear and blackmail, as the President and his circle have made it clear that any congressman or senator who deviates from the White House's line and does not vote and act according to the President's wishes will face internal primaries, and Musk's money will fund their rivals until they are forced out of politics.
Steve Bannon, guru of the alt-right movement, friend and advisor to Trump who played a key role in the first term and even went to prison for refusing to testify before Congress about the Capitol riot, has repeatedly attacked Musk, saying that a billionaire, who also was not born in the US, is not one of them and does not represent their values.
Musk has been a key asset for Trump. During the campaign, for the over 200 million dollars he donated and the many more he mobilized with his Silicon Valley friends. For his control of X, the most powerful platform on the planet. But later for the dirty work he has done with his army of twenty-year-olds to access all the levers of the administration, firing thousands of people, closing agencies and organizations, and even threatening judges with impeachment for opposing the President's executive orders.
But at the same time, he has also become a problem for the administration, as seen this past weekend. Musk and his allies invested tens of millions of dollars in a campaign in Wisconsin to appoint the ninth member of the State Supreme Court. Never before had so much money been spent on a campaign for a court, more than double the amount spent on the last vacancy two years ago. Musk supported the Republican candidate, a total supporter of Trump. But that involvement, both on social media and in person, during the same weekend at an event in Green Bay, turned against the conservative judge.
The elections became a kind of referendum on Musk, and he lost resoundingly, mobilizing Democrats and making it clear that his figure may be useful from the shadows and with an open wallet, but very counterproductive on the front lines, due to the rejection that his figure, his methods, his aggressiveness, provoke.
The same happens within the Executive, where he has had numerous clashes. Local press reported them in Cabinet meetings. For example, with the Secretary of Transportation, following air accidents and air traffic control personnel. Or with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, furious for being sidelined in the closure of agencies under his control or for receiving jabs in front of the President, reproaching him for not firing officials at the appropriate pace.
"Many say he is an unpredictable and unmanageable force who has had problems communicating his plans to Cabinet secretaries and through the White House chain of command led by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, which often leaves them frantic with unexpected and out-of-place comments on X, his social media platform, including sharing unexamined and uncoordinated plans to dismantle federal agencies," says the Politico article.
The latest vulnerable front is the business one. Right after Trump won the elections, Musk's fortune skyrocketed thanks to the rise in the stock prices of all his companies, particularly Tesla or SpaceX, with many ties to the Government. However, over time all the gains have evaporated, due to the falls in the main indices because of the economic policies of the new administration.
In addition, Musk is constantly in Washington or on weekends at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, close to Trump but far from his companies. The drop in sales of his electric car, his worst result since the second quarter of 2022, is a good indicator. Tesla delivered 323,800 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in the first quarter, 12% less than a year ago. Sales of the rest of the vehicles -- including the Cybertruck, the Model S, and X -- dropped by 24%, to only 12,881 units. Well below Tesla's forecasts, which expected to reach sales of 390,000 units in the first three months of the year. And now faces boycotts and even attacks worldwide against its vehicles or facilities. In the US, until recently, a Tesla was a symbol of status, environmental commitment, even progressivism. Now, it represents the opposite.