Elon Musk is stepping back from politics to refocus his efforts on his business empire, which includes Tesla and SpaceX.
A week ago, at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk told Bloomberg’s Mishal Hussein that he still spends one or two days a week as an advisor to President Donald Trump.
But the billionaire, who reportedly spent about $290 million helping Trump and other Republicans in the last election, also told Hussein that he would “significantly reduce” his political spending in the future.
“I think I’ve done enough,” he said.
Hussein asked Musk if his withdrawal from political spending was due to negative comments, likely related to his work at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk did not directly answer Hussein’s question.
“Well, if I see a reason to spend political money in the future, I will,” Musk said. “I don’t see any right now.”
Musk previously told Tesla investors that he would reduce his involvement in the Doge project after the company’s sales declined.
Musk has condemned the violence and vandalism that have occurred at some Tesla dealerships in response to his involvement in right-wing politics.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources familiar with Musk’s thinking, reported that he had not anticipated the level of backlash his project would provoke.
A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos found that only a third of Americans are satisfied with Musk’s performance on the Doge project.
The newspaper reported that Musk had become disillusioned with his political influence.
Todd Belt, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington University, said the turning point in Musk’s life came in April, when the conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court nominee he had spent millions to support lost to a liberal candidate.
Belt added that Musk viewed politics as a way to boost his reputation.
“It backfired,” Belt said. Tesla suffered.
Elon Musk’s reputation was also damaged.
Musk may have realized the difficulty of achieving significant spending cuts through the DOGE plan.
“I think he’ll leave before it’s clear he hasn’t been able to deliver on his promises,” Belt said.
Musk received “almost nothing” for all the time, money, and effort he put into the DOGE plan, said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president of economic and social policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
Musk wanted to cut $2 trillion in federal spending through DOGE.
So far, DOGE claims to have saved taxpayers $175 billion by canceling expensive government contracts, selling assets, combating fraud, stopping subsidies, making program changes, laying off workers, and more.
But Nowrasteh said Musk and DOGE’s plans overestimated the savings they would provide Americans.
“I think the actual savings are about a tenth of that amount,” Nowrasteh said.
Nowrasteh expressed doubt that the DOGE cuts would have a lasting impact on the growing federal debt.
The country is running a deficit of more than $36 trillion, plus an annual deficit of $2 trillion.
He added that Congress would not enshrine the DOGE cuts in law.
Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill, which includes the president’s tax cuts and spending priorities, has the potential to increase the federal debt.
“Ultimately, if you look at government spending, the pattern of government spending, and its impact on the economy, you won’t be able to pinpoint when the DOGE cuts were implemented because there won’t be any significant disruption or difference in the trajectory of federal spending,” Nowrasteh said. “So I think it was a failure overall. It probably never would have worked as well as predicted. They overestimated the possibilities.”
Nowrasteh said he expects Musk to halt his political work, including the DOGE project, for at least a few years.
Nowrasteh said he expects Musk to end his political work, including Project DOGE, for at least a few years.
Nourasteh added that Project DOGE is capable of outliving Musk in one way or another.
There are Project Doug teams embedded within federal agencies.
“They’re trying to make some changes, many of them positive,” Nourasteh said.
Nourasteh added that Project Doug has the support of Russell Vought, Trump’s budget director.
“They will continue to dismantle some of the data silos within the federal government to advance conservative policy priorities,” Nowrasteh said. “But I think the days of bragging about exploiting federal agencies for political gain are over.” »
Belt said Trump might not mind letting Doug’s project wither and die without Musk present every day to serve as a “lightning rod.”
Belt doesn’t expect Musk to devote much time to DOGE given “larger internal issues.”
Belt said DOGE was a disastrous management failure.
Musk may not be a big spender for Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, based on what he told Bloomberg’s Hussein at the Qatar Economic Forum.
But Belt doubts Musk is done with politics. Belt said he could work a little more behind the scenes and spend his money more strategically and prudently.
“The problem with politics is that people get out of it, but they get back into it very quickly,” Belt said.
