Musk: DOGE May Be Here to Stay for Trump’s Entire Term

“I think so,” the Tesla CEO said in response to the question of Doge being expanded. “It depends on the president.”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said the government’s Department of Efficiency (DOGE) was not as effective as he hoped, but he pointed out that it might continue for the rest of the Trump administration.

In an interview with Axios on Wednesday, Tesla CEO said Doge will end on July 4, 2026, but could last until the end of 2028. The order issued by Trump on January 20th said that on July 4th next year, a temporary organization of the US Doge Service would “cease.”

“I think so,” he said in response to the question of Doge being expanded. “It depends on the president.”

Musk says Doge has so far cuts by around $160 billion in federal spending, noting that the cuts are not as effective as he hoped.

“I think we were effective in the grand scheme of things. It’s not as effective as we like… But we’ve made progress,” he told the outlet.

“There’s a long way to go. It’s pretty difficult… Is it happy that the Cabinet and Congress are willing to take?

Due to his position as a special civil servant, Musk must leave the government within 130 days of taking up his post. Last month House Democrats sent a letter to Mask reminding him he must leave the administration by May 30th, but Musk himself said his time at Doge this month would fall.

Details about the era of masks in the administration have been revealed after White House Chief of Staff Susie Wills told the New York Post earlier this week that Tesla’s chief executive is not working physically in the White House as much as before.

“He’s not completely out of it. He’s not as physically present as he is,” Wills said of Musk. “People doing this job do good things here and pay attention to the details. He’s backing a bit, but he certainly hasn’t abandoned it, and his people are definitely not.”

Speaking at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Musk said he is likely to scale back his work at Doge a day or two a week.

“I want to go on average one or two days a week, which means I’m coming to DC every other week, probably three days.

Earlier this month, Musk told Tesla investors that in May he would allocate “a lot more” of his time to Tesla. This comment came as Tesla posted lower than expected net profits and revenue in the first quarter of 2025.

However, he stipulated that he would continue to support Doge “to ensure that the waste and fraud we are stopping have not returned.”

In early April, Musk told Wisconsin crowds that Tesla’s stocks had dropped significantly due to his government work. He also said that he “were no longer had Tesla stock and stocks for everyone who holds Tesla… roughly half.” “That’s a big deal,” he said.

Since its launch this year, Tesla shares have fallen by about 23%, but its shares have risen by about 60% year-on-year, at $289 when trading Thursday morning.