After six months at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk has decided to end his short-lived political career and return to the business world. The agency he led was tasked with finding cost savings through deep cuts in federal staffing. Musk’s resignation coincides with a rocky first quarter for Tesla, which has reported one of its weakest performances in years. According to former finance minister Prof. Grzegorz Kołodko, Musk’s efforts yielded mixed results—some objectives were met, but many fell short.
“Elon Musk certainly had a strong influence on Donald Trump—otherwise Trump wouldn’t have brought him in, even for a short time. Trump, being a businessman himself, is likely enamored with Musk’s achievements in business. Musk is undeniably talented in that realm,” said Prof. Kołodko in an interview with Newseria. “But when it comes to his abilities in economic policy, there are serious reservations. It seems Trump’s decision was driven more by emotion—one businessman admiring another—than by rational economic judgment.”
Musk ended his 130-day tenure as one of Trump’s top advisors and head of DOGE, an agency established to streamline federal agencies by cutting jobs and reducing bureaucracy. In late May, he announced his resignation. Although Musk had hinted at returning to business for months, commentators noted his increasingly skeptical remarks about Trump’s flagship tax reform, which is currently being debated in Congress.
Musk’s primary goal, reportedly inspired by his drastic post-Twitter layoffs in 2022, was to cut $2 trillion in government spending by reducing public-sector employment. Ultimately, however, savings reached only $150 billion. In an interview with CBS, Musk voiced frustration with the resistance he encountered from the federal bureaucracy—something he hadn’t anticipated.
According to a Reuters report from mid-April, Musk succeeded in laying off 260,000 federal workers out of a total of 2.3 million government employees. This included a second wave of voluntary severance offers. The first, launched in January, was accepted by 75,000 employees. The Internal Revenue Service saw staffing reductions of 20–25% from its original 22,000 employees, while the Department of Health’s workforce shrank from 82,000 to 62,000. The Department of Defense, which employed 950,000 people, saw cuts of 5–8%. However, the layoffs weren’t without legal challenges. In March, a court ordered the reinstatement of 24,000 probationary employees who had been let go unlawfully.
“The real question is: what was the benchmark for success in this collaboration?” said Prof. Kołodko. “Musk might say, ‘We made some mistakes, but we corrected them.’ Trump, in his usual style, would say it was all ‘great,’ ‘beautiful,’ ‘wonderful’—even if the outcome was far from perfect. So we have to ask: What were the real expectations for Musk’s role in politics? If it was to reduce central federal employment, that goal was largely met. But whether it was the right thing to do is another issue entirely. In my opinion, it wasn’t. Musk, or perhaps Trump through Musk, ended up throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
One possible reason for Musk’s retreat from politics is Tesla’s dismal financial performance. In Q1 2025, the company experienced a 20% year-over-year drop in automotive revenue, reaching its lowest level since 2021. As a result, Tesla’s overall revenue fell by 9%, operating income plummeted by 66%, and net profit dropped by 71%—the lowest quarterly earnings since 2020.
“I think Musk ultimately lost more than he gained from working with the Trump administration,” Kołodko added. “Yes, he gained political experience and media attention—not for his technology or business acumen, but for political reasons. Some thought he engaged politically to further stimulate demand for his companies and earn even more billions, but he suffered losses along the way. Still, I believe Musk is probably satisfied with himself. He achieved something, and his standards for success and failure differ from those we typically use.”
In the end, Elon Musk’s brief foray into government reform may be remembered more for its symbolism than its substance. While he did slash jobs and trim some budgetary fat, his departure—timed with Tesla’s setbacks—highlights the limits of transplanting Silicon Valley-style disruption into Washington’s deeply entrenched bureaucracies.
