$DOGE On Friday, President Donald Trump held a farewell event for Elon Musk in the Oval Office, as the billionaire entrepreneur shifts his focus back to his business ventures.
Mr. Musk, dressed in black and visibly sporting a black eye, stood beside President Trump during a joint press conference intended to underscore the President’s continued support for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
During the event, President Trump presented Mr. Musk with a golden key, praising him as an individual who had withstood significant public scrutiny and criticism. “He had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame,” the President remarked, suggesting that much of the criticism Musk has faced was unwarranted.
The event was widely seen as a demonstration of President Trump’s unwavering support for Mr. Musk, particularly in light of the entrepreneur's role in aiding the President's political resurgence.
Tesla has recently been the target of protests, acts of vandalism, and a sharp decline in its stock value—challenges that have intensified following Musk’s increasing involvement with the DOGE initiative and aggressive cost-cutting measures.
Despite a previously strained relationship—highlighted by Musk once suggesting Trump should not seek re-election, and Trump retaliating on social media—the two ultimately found common ground. Mr. Musk later became a significant donor to Trump’s political campaign and offered public praise, while President Trump facilitated Musk’s involvement in multiple federal agencies.
In February, Musk drew headlines after appearing on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference with a chainsaw, declaring that substantial federal budget savings could be achieved quickly. However, the ambitious goal of cutting $1 trillion from the federal budget has yet to materialize. Musk later acknowledged the complexity of the task, describing the process of identifying and executing such savings as “extraordinarily time-consuming and difficult.”
Although Mr. Musk is formally stepping back from his role in DOGE, both he and President Trump emphasized that the initiative would continue. The President noted that Musk had established teams of highly capable engineers and computer scientists to sustain the program’s momentum. “Elon is really not leaving,” President Trump said. “He’s going to be back and forth. I have a feeling it’s his baby.”
Mr. Musk echoed this sentiment, asserting that DOGE’s long-term goal of $1 trillion in federal cuts remains in place, despite the current tally of $175 billion in proposed reductions. “This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk declared, comparing the initiative to a disciplined philosophy, “like Buddhism.”
During the press conference, a reporter asked Musk to comment on a recent New York Times report alleging increased drug use. He declined to address the specifics, instead questioning the publication’s credibility and urging to “move on.”
Musk was also asked about the visible injury to his face. He explained it resulted from playful roughhousing with his five-year-old son, X. “I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face,’” Musk recalled. “And he did,” a remark that momentarily lightened the mood in the room.
Later in the session, Mr. Musk criticized recent federal court rulings that have limited executive authority, calling them instances of “immense judicial overreach” and stating, “It needs to stop. It’s gone too far.
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