Elon Musk’s 138-day tenure as a “special government employee” overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) concluded in a peculiar Oval Office send-off, overshadowed by his failure to meet ambitious savings targets and circulating controversial reports. While President Trump offered a laudatory farewell, the underlying sentiment was one of widespread disillusionment with Musk’s performance.
President Trump’s decision to make the briefing explicitly about Musk, praising his business acumen and innovation, was an unusual move. However, this high praise seemed to clash with the reality of Musk’s plummeting public popularity and the reported decline in the stock of his flagship company, Tesla, both attributed to his contentious and disruptive approach to government.
Adding to the unusual atmosphere were unaddressed reports from a major news organization detailing alleged drug use by Musk and his criticism of a new tax bill. Trump quickly dismissed the source, but Musk’s silence on the substantive allegations left a lingering sense of unanswered questions and contributed to the cloud of controversy surrounding his departure.
A striking detail was Musk’s visible black eye, which he explained as a consequence of playful interaction with his five-year-old son. This seemingly innocuous injury became a curious visual metaphor for the reputational damage Musk had incurred during his brief but impactful foray into Washington. His final words, a critique of the left’s “moral flaw,” underscored his polarizing nature.