Is Elon Musk's DOGE gig ending? Amid sharp backlash, Donald Trump talks about Tesla boss going back 'at certain point'

US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Amid severe backlash and widespread ‘Takedown Tesla’ protests, is Elon Musk planning to leave Washington? US President Donald Trump fanned the speculations as he spoke about DOGE’s future and the mission coming to an end “at certain point.” Speaking to reported in the Oval Office, Trump said that while he would like to keep Musk and his team “as long as I can keep him,” but things will change at some point.

“I think Elon Musk is amazing, but I also think he has a big company to run, so at some point he’s going to go back. I’ll keep him for as long as I can keep him. He’s a very talented guy. I love very smart people. And he’s very smart, and he’s done a great job. Him and his team of high IQ geniuses,” the US President said.

NEW: President Trump talks about what an end of DOGE could look likeI think Elon Musk is amazing, but I also think he has a big company to run, so at some point hes going to go back. Ill keep him for as long as I can keep him. Hes a very talented guy. I love very smart pic.twitter.com/5906YtRSso

Autism Capital (@AutismCapital) March 31, 2025

On the DOGE operations, Trump said, “A lot of people that are working with DOGE are the secretaries and they’ve learned a lot. I think some of them may try to keep the DOGE people with them. At a certain point it will end but they’ve also gotten a big education. There will be a point at which the secretaries can do this type of work, and do it with a scalpel.”

Trump is not the only one who has now started talking about how things will be in Washington once term of DOGE ends. In a recent interview to Fox News, Musk had given a timeline as to when will the term of the Department of Government Efficiency end. During the interview, Musk had said that he will leave Washington once the deficit of US government is reduced by a trillion dollars. This will happen sometime by May-end, Musk said regarding the deadline.

It should be noted that Musk has been appointed as special government employees. As per the current norms, such federal staff has a stint of just 130 days.