Featured Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, US News, Politics
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, US News, Politics
Elon Musk has long been a supporter of Donald Trump but may be stepping down from his current role in the administration sooner than most people expected.
Donald Trump has told his inner circles, including members of his cabinet that his 'first bro' Elon Musk might be stepping away from his duties.
While this might appear to be a response for Trump’s unhappiness with the billionaire tech mogul’s work, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Trump is reportedly pleased with Musk and his work with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over the last few months.
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However, both men have agreed that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his many businesses and play more of a supporting role to the president.
In recent weeks, Musk has been facing very public criticism from those invested in his business due to his time having to be split.
Last month, Ross Gerber, one of Tesla’s earliest investors, boldly called on Musk to be replaced as the Tesla CEO and cited him not having enough time dedicated to the company as one of the reasons he was calling for a change.
Speaking on Sky News, Gerber said: “The company's reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk.
"Sales are plummeting so, yeah, it's a crisis. You literally can't sell the best product in the market place because the CEO is so divisive.
"It's time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long."
However, while people have been floundering that Musk is not currently running his long-standing EV company, allegedly, his role was never permanent.
It was believed by many that Musk was the force behind DOGE, but apparently, he was simply a senior advisor to the president without any real power to make decisions, according to the White House.
“Elon, I want to thank you — I know you’ve been through a lot,” Trump said, after mentioning death threats and vandalism directed at the Tesla cars in a speech.
Both men then went on to hint at a transition when Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Musk just on March 27 whether he’d be ready to leave when his government role expires.
Musk replied: “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion within that time frame.”
Then, on Monday April 1, Trump told reporters that 'at some point Elon’s going to want to go back to his company'.
He added that the SpaceX founder 'wants to' go back, but that the President would only 'keep him as long as I could keep him.'
So, while Musk is being booted from his role, it seems as though its bitter sweet for Trump and for Musk too.
In a statement, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said: “As the President said, this White House would love to keep Elon around for as long as possible.
“Elon has been instrumental in executing the President’s agenda, and will continue this good work until the President says otherwise.”
While it's an end of an era, it's probably not an end to their friendship or partnership opportunities in the future.