Right wing billionaire Elon Musk is reportedly considering leaving politics soon due to “attacks” from the left.
Musk, the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has seen his businesses, mainly Tesla, suffer due to his role leading the task force Donald Trump put in charge of cutting government spending by firing thousands of federal workers and closing agencies created by Congress.
Now Musk wants out.
According to The Washington Post, Musk is “ready to exit because he is tired of fielding what he views as a slew of nasty and unethical attacks from the political left,” the outlet reported citing a source familiar with his thinking.
The source also said that Musk believes his work at DOGE will continue after his departure since staffers have already established themselves across every federal agency.
Musk has admitted in the past that he is having some ‘difficulties’ running his other businesses and fulfilling his role in the Trump White House.
The billionaire is facing pressure from Tesla investors and insiders to step back from DOGE to save the company’s plunging stock.
“Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote to clients on Sunday, according to Bloomberg. “Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla….and anyone that thinks the brand damage Musk has inflicted is not a real thing, spend some time speaking to car buyers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. You will think differently after those discussions.”
“Tesla has unfortunately become a political symbol globally of the Trump Administration/DOGE,” Ives added, arguing that the company faces “potentially 15 percent—20 percent permanent demand destruction for future Tesla buyers due to the brand damage Musk has created with DOGE.”
It remains unclear when Musk will depart as head of DOGE, but The Post, noted that his special government employee status will expire at the end of next month.
Even as Musk insists attacks are coming solely from the left and that is influencing his decision to leave, recent reports show there are some detractors in the Trump administration.
“Talking to the guy is sometimes like listening to really rusty nails on a chalkboard,” a senior official told Rolling Stone earlier this month. “He’s just the most irritating person I’ve ever had to deal with, and that is saying something.”
The potential departure also comes amid signs of Musk’s diminishing influence within the Trump administration.
The New York Times reported last week that the acting commissioner of the IRS, Gary Shapley, was being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained that Musk had his preferred candidate installed without Bessent’s backing.
Members of the cabinet are also frustrated with Musk’s uncoordinated cost-cutting moves.
The Post also reported that federal employees are refusing to comply with Musk’s request to send weekly emails listing five things they did the previous week despite him warning that not sending the email would is considered an automatic resignation.
