On April 24th, according to CNN, Musk made two very interesting and contradictory statements about his government position during Tesla's earnings conference call. Firstly, Musk hinted that he is about to end his current "temporary" role, and the time he assigns to the Department of Efficiency (DOGE) will be significantly reduced starting from May. However, Musk subsequently stated that he would not completely withdraw from government affairs and may even have to stay until the end of Trump's presidency in 2029. Musk said, "I believe I must continue to do so until the end of the presidency to ensure that the waste and fraud we have prevented will not come back. If given the opportunity, I think I will continue to spend one or two days a week dealing with government affairs as long as the president wants me to do so, as long as it works
Musk's current role in the government is on the edge of what is allowed by Washington law. The White House claims that he is a "special government employee," but according to Max Stier, CEO of Public Service Partners, granting Musk broad powers to manage DOGE, lay off employees, and cut federal agencies was an erroneous application of the Special Government Employees Act from the beginning. The Trump administration abused this mechanism by hiring Musk and others to circumvent restrictions such as conflicts of interest and security reviews that should have been followed by full-time employees.
