Just a day after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’, the billionaire has stepped down from his post
Elon Musk has announced he is stepping down from his post in politics after sharing his ‘disappointment’ in the Trump administration.
The world’s richest man was working under a distinct role in the US government as a ‘special government employee’ – which allows him to work for up to 130 days in the office each year, before his official exit on May 28.
So while his departure was expected, the Tesla owner has resigned three days earlier – and just a day after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
The BBC has reported that following his criticism, the White House was working to ‘offboard’ Musk yesterday.
Taking to Twitter to announce his resignation, the billionaire posted: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.
Elon Musk hits out at Bill Gates
Elon Musk publicly criticized the Trump administration shortly before he stepped down from his government role (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
The POTUS has been tight lipped on the matter so far, but he did send a cryptic message on Truth Social.
Posting a meme to his account, it pictured Trump walking in the middle of a darkened street at night, captioned: “He’s on a mission from God & nothing can stop what is coming.”
Despite not being voted in by the public, Musk has been heading up the new government division alongside former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
His mission was to streamline the US government through plans to axe thousands of jobs and drastically reduce the wage bill, and once he had finished his mission, he had vowed to disband the department – setting a completion date of no later than July 4, 2026… Independence Day next year.
As Trump put it, his primary objective is to ‘dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies’.
The initiative has already engaged in mass layoffs across the country, overseen the removal of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and it’s made sizeable cuts to the Department of Education.
Musk was referred to as President Donald Trump’s ‘first buddy’, with the pair having been inseparable in POTUS’ first few months in office (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
What is the ‘big, beautiful bill’?
The spending bill includes an increased in defense spending, including Trump’s ambition to implement a ‘Golden Dome’ above the US which would protect it from enemy missiles, as well as multi-trillion dollar tax breaks.
Having just squeezed through the House of Representatives, it will now go to the senate.
It is believed that the new legislation could could increase government spending by around $600 billion in the next fiscal year – which the SpaceX owner believes ‘undermines’ his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Speaking to CBS in a preview clip that aired on Tuesday (May 27), Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful… but I don’t know if it could be both, my personal opinion.”Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Jeff Bottari
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics
Updated 11:52 3 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 11:53 3 Apr 2025 GMT+1
‘Real’ reason Elon Musk is stepping down from DOGE as Trump reportedly confirms with ‘inner circle’
The SpaceX founder claimed reports about his departure were ‘fake news’
Elon Musk has spoken out on the reason he’ll be leaving the White House after reports emerged that Donald Trump had discussed his imminent departure with his ‘inner circle’.
News of the president’s discussions emerged in a report from Politico published yesterday (April 2), which cited ‘three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship’.
The report claimed that Trump had told his ‘inner circle’, which includes members of his Cabinet, that Musk would be ‘stepping back’ from his current role after he helped launch the Department of Government Efficiency and cut federal spending.
Musk’s role within the government has long been a source of confusion, with the White House stating in February that Musk was a ‘senior adviser’ to Trump, while he has elsewhere been described as a ‘special government employee’.
Musk is a ‘special government employee’ at the White House (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
There were claims he was in charge, then suggestions that he had ‘no actual authority to make government decisions’, but now it’s become clear that Musk likely won’t be hanging around forever anyway.
The insiders told Politico that Trump is pleased with the work of Musk and DOGE, but that both men had decided in ‘recent days’ that it would soon be time for Musk to step back.
In the wake of the reports, Musk wrote on Twitter that the claims were ‘fake news’ as he’d already been planning to leave as part of an existing time limit on his role.
Since Musk is a ‘special government employee’, his work within the government is not set to exceed 130 days, ABC News reports, meaning his term would be up around the end of May.
Musk branded discussions around his departure as ‘fake news’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Musk’s comment on Twitter came in response to a post from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who wrote: “This ‘scoop’ is garbage. Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”
When asked by reporters about the 130 day limit, Trump indicated that Musk had other duties to take care of outside of DOGE.
“Well, I think he’s … amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run. And so, at some point he’s going to be going back. He wants to,” the POTUS said.
Though Musk is expected to step back from DOGE in the coming weeks, one senior administration official told Politico the SpaceX founder is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser.Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Harnik
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics
Updated 10:58 17 May 2025 GMT+1Published 10:51 17 May 2025 GMT+1
Elon Musk slammed for response to post ‘body-shaming’ Taylor Swift after Trump said ‘she’s no longer hot’
It’s not the first time Musk has brought up Swift either…
Elon Musk has highlighted comments made by Donald Trump on social media about Taylor Swift ‘no longer’ being ‘hot’.
It’s not like Donald Trump and Elon Musk have anything better to do, right? Not like one is supposed to be running the country and the other overseeing Twitter alongside advising said president of the US.
Instead, it seems the pair have been directing their keyboard warrior fury towards none other than pop star Taylor Swift.
Whether it be in 2018 when Trump said he liked Swift’s music ’25 percent less’ after she showed support for the Democrats, earlier this year when Trump highlighted Swift getting ‘booed out of’ the stadium after a Chiefs game, or yet another jab made about her Super Bowl appearance.
It appears Trump isn’t finished there, now taking aim at Swift’s appearance.
Donald Trump shared another bizarre post about Taylor Swift (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In a post to Truth Social on May 16, Trump said: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?'”
A Twitter account titled Autism Capital later shared a screenshot of the post to the platform, adding: “Trump woke up today and said ‘You know what it’s been a while since I blasted Taylor Swift.'”
Another account then shared a photograph of Swift performing on stage alongside a ‘Pepe the Frog’ meme edited into the image holding a ruler by Swift’s bottom.
And who should respond? Why, Kekius Maximus of course, AKA Elon Musk – adding a laughing emoji.
And it’s not taken long for people to slam Musk for his response to the post.
People have called out Elon Musk’s response (X/@elonmusk)
One Reddit user accused Musk of ‘body-shaming’ the singer.
A second added: “They need to leave her the f**k alone what’s their obsession with her.”
A third theorized the reason Trump and Musk are so ‘obsessed’ with Swift is because ‘she’s their class peer as a billionaire and they hate it’.
And someone else wrote: “Same guy who threatened to put a baby in her last year? Dude is disgusting.”
Indeed, it’s not the first time Musk has brought up Swift either.
What do you make of that, eh Elon? (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
When Trump went head-to-head with Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the US, Swift weighed in online with where she’d be casting her vote.
Swift took to Instagram to state her support for Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, explaining that an AI image of her seemingly endorsing Trump had supported her decision for transparency.
She said: “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
At the end of the statement, she signed ‘childless cat lady’ below her name, referencing JD Vance’s remarks about prominent Democrats being a ‘bunch of childless cat ladies’.
And in a bizarre turn of events, Musk then took to Twitter to respond: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Oh, and Musk hasn’t stopped there either.
Musk and Trump’s weird ‘obsession’ with Swift? She’s been good at shaking it off (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
After being accused of doing a ‘Nazi salute’ while at Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Musk seemingly saw it as yet another opportunity to mention Swift.
Musk later shared a picture of Adolf Hitler performing a Nazi salute alongside a shot of Swift with her arm raised.
On Reddit, a post included footage of Swift from the supposed incident in 2014, showing she’s actually blowing a kiss to the crowd…
UNILAD has contacted representatives of Elon Musk and Taylor Swift for comment.Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Reddit, Social Media, Taylor Swift, US News
Updated 10:12 20 Apr 2025 GMT+1Published 12:56 4 Apr 2025 GMT+1
JD Vance reveals what Elon Musk will do after DOGE role ends
Vice President JD Vance warns DOGE has ‘a lot of work to do’
Vice President JD Vance has revealed what will happen to DOGE after Elon Musk’s departure and whether the Tesla CEO will continue to be an advisor to Trump.
On April 2, a report from Politico citing ‘three Trump insiders’ reported that while the president was pleased with Elon Musk’s work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), ‘in recent days’, both men had decided it would be time for him to ‘step back’.
Musk’s role in the government has been one of confusion – many unsure what his title actually is – the White House stating in February he’s a ‘senior advisor’ to Trump, but the Tesla CEO elsewhere described as a ‘special government employee’.
Ultimately, any claims from inside the White House about Musk ‘stepping down’ were quickly squashed, Musk’s position clarified as of a special government employee (SGE), in which the reality is his time has simply come to an end – SGE’s work within the government not allowed to exceed 130 days.
But what is Musk set to do after, and what’s the future of DOGE?
JD Vance warns Europe ‘risk’ ‘engaging in civilisational suicide’
Credit: Fox News
Well, Vance told Fox News: “Well first of all, that report I saw was total fake news. Elon came in and we said, ‘We need you to make the government more efficient, we need you to shrink the incredible vast bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also costs way too much money’, and we said, ‘that’s going to take about six months’ – and that’s what Elon signed up for.”
Vance then confirmed ‘of course,’ Musk is ‘going to continue to be an advisor’ to Trump’s administration.
“And by the way, the work of DOGE isn’t even close to done, the work of Elon is not even close to done,” he continued.
JD Vance has weighed in on the future of DOGE post Elon Musk’s departure (Fox News)
He said: “You look at all of the fraudulent grants that they’ve found, you look at people 150 years old who are fraudulently collecting social security payments, you see our social security system – 40 percent of the people who are calling in are actually committing fraud, that means the 60 percent who neither social security checks are waiting in line – DOGE has got a lot of work to do.”
Vance drilled down ‘that work’ will ‘continue after Elon leaves,’ resolving: “Fundamentally, Elon is going to remain both a friend and advisor of me and the president and he’s done a lot of good things. People don’t realise how vast and uncontrolled the bureaucracy was.
“We’ve started to chip away at it but there’s a lot of work to do – it’s not all goign to happen in six months it’s going to take a long and committed effort.”Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News, JD Vance
Updated 11:35 21 Feb 2025 GMTPublished 11:36 21 Feb 2025 GMT
Stephen King hits out at Donald Trump and Elon Musk with blunt message in surprise return to Twitter
The renowned author seemed to come back to the social media platform specifically to target Trump
Renowned author Stephen King has captivated millions of people across the globe with his mind-bending and lengthy novels, but when he returned to Twitter this week, all he needed was 16 words to get his message across.
King’s surprise comeback to the Elon Musk-owned social media platform came just a few months after the author announced he’d be waving goodbye to it in November 2024.
In a post that’s now pinned to the top of King’s profile, he explained at the time that he’d ‘tried to stay’ on Twitter, but that the ‘atmosphere [had] just become too toxic’.
This is coming from a man who’s made a living come up with terrifying and twisted situations.
Stephen King took a break from Twitter after it became ‘too toxic’ (John Lamparski/WireImage)
“Follow me on Threads, if you like,” King added, referring to Mark Zuckeberg’s rival platform.
But now just a few weeks later, King has returned to Twitter and announced his comeback with a quick post which read: “I’m baaaack! Did you miss me?”
Two minutes after his first post, he shared another tweet in which he took aim at both Donald Trump and Twitter’s owner, Musk.
Suggesting he’d made his return specifically to share his thoughts on the president and his adviser, King wrote: “Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving dips**t! Goes double for Elon!”
King didn’t hold back on his return to Twitter (X/@stephenking)
The post isn’t the first time King has criticized the pair in recent weeks. Shortly after Trump won the US election in November, King shared a post on Threads in which he claimed Musk was ‘running the show’ for Trump, despite the fact he cannot run for president himself because he was born in South Africa.
King wrote: “You can’t call Elon Musk the President-elect, because he wasn’t elected. In fact, having been born in Pretoria, he is ineligible to become president. Nonetheless, he is running the show. You know that, but it bears repeating.”
Trump has been working with Musk as an advisor (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
King’s clear disapproval of Trump and Musk comes as the pair continue to work together in the White House after Trump declared Musk as being in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, aka DOGE.
However, the White House recently took a different stance on Musk’s position in the government, as it described him as a senior adviser to the president who had no authority over DOGE.
When it comes to the reference of Vladimir Putin in King’s tweet, it’s worth noting that King spoke out just after Trump warned Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that he ‘better move fast’ against Russia’s ongoing invasion of his country, or he was ‘not going to have a country left’.
Trump’s comments came after he engaged in a lengthy phone conversation with Putin, which Trump described as ‘highly productive’.Featured Image Credit: Olivia Wong/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, Stephen King, Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, Threads
