Elon Musk’s future after leaving government in the next few months

Elon Musk's future after leaving government in the next few months

Billionaire Elon Musk will continue to be a “friend and advisor” to President Trump after he officially leaves the government, according to Vice President JD Vance.

On April 3, on Air Force One, Mr. Trump told reporters that businessman Musk could stay “as long as he wants.”

Asked if he would consider appointing Elon Musk to another position, Mr Trump said he would, but added that Musk had “many companies to run”.

Mr Trump said “Elon has to leave” in a few months.

The White House said Mr Musk is not formally in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), although he has been heavily involved.

By law, Mr. Musk, who is designated a special government employee, is only allowed to officially work for the government for 130 days, or a little over four months. That period will end in late May or early June.

Mr. Vance said Mr. Musk was told that the administration needed him to cut down on government and make it more efficient, a task Mr. Musk was told would take about six months.

Vice President Vance said in an interview with Fox News’ Lawrence Jones that Musk will continue to be an advisor and that DOGE’s work is not even done. Elon’s work is not done either.

Musk is a special government employee. What is that? : NPR

Mr. Vance praised the work he and DOGE have done, including unearthing grants that the White House deemed wasteful or fraudulent.

The US Vice President said the work will continue after Elon leaves, but basically, this billionaire has done a lot of good things.

“People don’t realize how vast and out of control the bureaucracy is. We’ve started to address it, but there’s still a lot of work to do. It’s not going to be done in six months, it’s going to take a long, dedicated effort,” Vance said.

Mr Vance’s comments came after Politico reported that President Trump told his inner circle and Cabinet members that Elon Musk would still leave his current role in the coming weeks, a story Mr Vance and Mr Musk called “fake news”.

As a special government employee, Musk’s financial statements are not made public and he is exempt from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest rules that apply to regular government employees.

It is unclear what the White House will do if Musk, who the White House said is not being paid, stays longer than 130 days.