Recently, Musk has felt a bit 'caught in the middle' in the U.S. government. He was originally thriving under Trump but now has to pack up and leave in disgrace.
At the cabinet meeting on April 30, Trump publicly encouraged Musk: 'You've suffered a great injustice! All the people in America are especially grateful to you!' After he finished speaking, the room erupted in applause. Trump even joked, 'You can do this as long as you want, but I see you're probably thinking about going back to Tesla to make cars!'
It's awkward to say that Musk's actions this time are indeed embarrassing: as Trump's 'core ally,' he led the efficiency department to cut budgets and lay off civil servants, saving $130 billion in less than six months.
However, due to harsh layoffs recently, 23 departments went on strike collectively, causing issues even with FDA drug approvals, drawing public outcry. To make matters worse, Tesla's stock price plunged, with profits shrinking by 71% in the first quarter, and the board has secretly started looking for a new CEO.
In fact, Musk has long had the intention to resign; he mentioned last month that he would 'only go to the government two days a week.'
His term is also coming to an end soon—according to regulations, this kind of 'temporary worker' can only serve until July.
Although Trump publicly tried to retain him, the White House had already begun to look for successors.
It seems this Silicon Valley madman is really going to say goodbye to politics this time and return to save his precarious automotive empire.