Musk’s White House legacy: ‘Don't be surprised if DOGE costs money’
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The Tesla billionaire's stint as Trump's government efficiency chief ends amid disagreements over spending, with Musk delivering just a fraction of his promised $2 trillion in cuts and criticising Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’.
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In brief:
- Elon Musk officially left his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after 129 days, claiming $175bn in savings but falling far short of his promised $2 trillion target.
- One day before his departure Musk criticised Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ spending package, calling it disappointing and saying it undermines DOGE's work, highlighting growing tensions between the two.
- While Musk's departure was civil, analysts describe his approach as heavy-handed and legally problematic, with his "sledgehammer" methods generating sympathy for affected departments rather than support for efficiency cuts.
What’s the story?
“The bromance to end all bromances”.
That’s how Lewis Goodall describes the curious, turbulent relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk over the past 129 days.
“But his days as a federal employee, a special federal employee, have come to an end.”
Elon Musk officially announced his time in the Trump administration is over.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who had been leading the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in an effort to reduce wasteful government spending, seemingly leaves on good terms, thanking the President in a post on X.
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 (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025
The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
DOGE's website claims around $175bn has been saved due to Musk’s work in the newly formed department.
But that figure is nowhere close to the $2 trillion he promised in October 2024.
“I think it underlines that actually, taking billions out of the government - this trillion figure that he said he would take out of spending - has failed, he's got nowhere close to that,” Lewis says.
Musk’s role in team Trump was always temporary and his departure not unexpected - but the official announcement comes just one day after Musk - who donated huge sums to Trump’s campaign - criticised Trump’s new spending bill.
Is Donald Trump's agenda coming off the rails?
Why is Elon Musk feeling ‘disappointed’?
On the cusp of leaving the Trump administration, Musk didn’t shy away from publicly vocalising Trump policy he disagreed with.
The Tesla founder has criticised Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act, telling CBS News he was “disappointed to see the mess of the spending bill” which he believes “undermines the work the DOGE team is doing”.
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act was narrowly approved by the House of Representatives last week.
It includes tax cuts for individuals and corporations, ending clean energy initiatives introduced by Joe Biden, building a wall along the Mexico border and a huge $1tn (£741bn) in cuts to benefits for low-income families.
The Big Beautiful Bill has a very big - but not so beautiful - price tag.
An independent auditor for the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will add $2.3tn to the deficit.
“That is an almost unfathomable number,” Lewis Goodall says.
This is something that Lewis and Musk can - somewhat unusually - agree on.
"I think a bill can be big or beautiful,” Musk said. “I don't know if it can be both."
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What’s The News Agents’ take?
While Musk’s departure from the Trump administration has been “quite civil,” Jon says, it’s also clear that he had become “utterly marginalised” within the White House.
“There was no brutal sacking, but there was obvious disappointment at what Musk was doing, and they do not see eye to eye on tariffs and visa policy.”
As Lewis points out - half of Tesla is made in China, after all.
And while Musk wasn’t sacked, he also won’t be expecting any accolades for his work leading team DOGE.
Not only did his department fail to save nearly as much money as it set out to, but its “sledgehammer” approach has been heavily criticised.
“It was like asking a gardener to come in and maybe trim the rose bush a bit and to cut back a few of the weeds - and you find he's come in with a bulldozer and an earth digger and has completely removed your garden,” Jon says.
“The lack of subtlety about the operation of what he was imposing on USAID and other departments was such that it actually led to the massive sympathy being with the departments, and not about the cutting of waste or bureaucracy.”
Overall, Jon marks Musk’s performance in cutting government spending an A for being performative, but gives it an F for preparation.
The lasting impact of Musk’s actions will be felt long after his departure, he says.
“There are legal cases everywhere over things that Musk has introduced. People saying; ‘that's unlawful, that's unconstitutional. You can't do this. You haven't got proper authority to do that’.
“Don't be surprised if DOGE costs money.”
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
