Elon Musk is ready to walk away from his government position, and according to The Washington Post, it’s because he’s had enough of what he calls constant attacks from the political left.
Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is expected to step down when his temporary government role ends next month. A source close to him told The Post that Musk believes DOGE will keep running fine without him, saying the team is already plugged into several federal agencies.
But behind the scenes, his influence is clearly fading. The New York Times recently reported that the IRS’s acting commissioner was ousted after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained that Musk got his own pick in the role without Bessent’s approval. Cabinet officials are also frustrated with Musk for making budget cuts without looping them in.
Dan Ives, a well-known analyst at Wedbush Securities, said it’s time for Musk to drop the politics and get back to where he belongs—selling cars.
“Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time,” Ives told clients, according to Bloomberg. “Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla… and anyone that thinks the brand damage Musk has inflicted is not a real thing, spend some time speaking to car buyers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. You will think differently after those discussions.”
He went further. “Tesla has unfortunately become a political symbol globally of the Trump Administration/DOGE,” Ives added. He warned that the company could lose up to “15 percent—20 percent” of future demand because of Musk’s political baggage.
Musk also created controversy by demanding that federal employees send him weekly emails listing five things they accomplished. “Failure to send the email would be considered a resignation,” he warned in February.
Just two days later, the Office of Personnel Management pushed back. In a briefing, they made it clear: the emails were optional, and skipping them wouldn’t be seen as quitting. An internal message obtained by The Post also noted that no one was even reviewing the emails.
Today, agencies are all over the place. Some dropped the policy completely. Others are technically still doing it but not bothering to track replies. A few workers reportedly send the same email every week or treat the whole thing as a joke.
Between losing sway in D.C., sparking internal backlash, hurting Tesla’s image, and the attacks pile up, Musk appears to have had enough and is now looking for the exit.
But one thing is clear: his time in politics may be ending not with a bang, but with frustration and burned bridges.
