Farewell from Washington? Why Elon Musk becomes dangerous for Donald Trump

Where Donald Trump is, there is also Elon Musk. In any case, it has seemed in the past few months. The richest man in the world was constantly alongside the American president: in cabinet meetings, in the Oval Office, in his estate Mar-A-Lago and even for weekend delights such as a wrestling competition in Philadelphia.

At the beginning of March, Trump, who, according to his own statement, had long since driven himself, stopped a Tesla event on the lawn of the White House, praised the “beautiful” cars and sat personally. He hoped that the sunken Tesla shares will help, the president said at the time.

Now the close connection between the two men seems to be at least officially coming to an end. American media reported on Wednesday that Musk would soon withdraw from Washington. On the one hand, this could have bureaucratic reasons: As a “Special Government Employee”, Musk is officially only allowed to work for the government 130 days a year without falling under stricter ethics rules. This period is likely to end at the end of May, early June. But for Trump, Musk has recently become more and more common politically.

As an unofficial director of the “Office for Government Efficiency” (Doge), Musk has become the epitome of mass layoffs in authorities that are by no means just aging Democrats. In citizens' meetings, Americans shouted their republican deputies over the brute approach in recent weeks until the events almost only took place online. For the coming Saturday are under the motto “Hands away!” Protests against Doge planned in Washington and other cities across the country. In the election campaign in Wisconsin, which Musk supported with twenty million dollars, the left -liberal candidate for the Supreme Court still won on Tuesday.

Recent surveys show that more than half of the Americans do not appreciate the crowbar. So far it hasn't helped that the White House Musk defends with the argument that he “saved” American democracy. In addition, Doge has previously provided poor evidence of the alleged corruption and waste within the government agencies. After American media made contradictions and mistakes in the lists on the website, Doge deleted them without comment.

Trump had already hinted at a future farewell to Musk on Monday. The latter “has to lead a large company” and had to “return there” at some point. However, he wanted to keep it “as long as possible”. According to the news magazine “Politico”, Trump should still be satisfied with Musk's work. His departure apparently does not mean the end of Doge either.

The authorities and ministers would have learned a lot from Musk, said Trump on Monday. You will come to a point where you could do the work yourself. In a rare moment of public reprimand, Trump emphasized at a cabinet meeting in early March that the authorities were responsible for cuts, not Musk. Then, however, he pushed in, if they do not act appropriately, Musk will regulate it.

But the richest man in the world is not only unpopular for many Americans. With his kind, according to media reports, he also cited in Trump's close circle and within the government. Already last December he had a public exchange of blows with Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon. In the dispute over H1B working visa, which Musk's companies are dependent on, he had asked critics on his platform X to “fuck himself in the face”. Bannon then described him as a “toddler”.

Foreign Minister Marco Rubio is also said to have created Musk after he had concluded a complete authority with the development agency USAID that was under Rubios. Musk is said to have said on his criticism during a meeting in the White House that Rubio was “good for television”, and suggested, otherwise he should be used for little. After all, he had “nobody” fired. The White House reacted as usual and rejected the “miserable” rumors about a feud of the two men.

But it should also play a role for Trump that the Democrats are now slowly resisting after two and a half months in shock – and their message is primarily directed against Elon Musk. In mid-March, more than 30,000 people gathered for the rally of the left Senator Bernie Sanders and the left MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who performed on an “anti-oligarchy tour”. Trump had promised in the election campaign to act against the “elites” in Washington. The Democrats plays into the hands of the richest man in the world in a massive average home.

And Musk should also be interested in using more time in the future. Since he is the face of Doge, there have been attacks on Tesla car dealers, vehicles and charging stations in the United States. Trump's Minister of Justice Pam Bondi does not get tired of branding the attacks as a “domestic terrorism”, which should be punished at least five years.

But the aversion to Musk's political interference is also financially noticeable. Tesla announced on Wednesday that sales in the first quarter fell by 13 percent compared to the previous year. However, after the media reports of a possible farewell Musk from the White House, Tesla's share price ripped off.

A slow farewell citing Trump's special status in the White House would be an opportunity to end the “Bromance” in Washington for both men. But Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt found clear words for the reports on Wednesday: it was “garbage”. Trump and Musk have already said that Musk said goodbye to Doge when his “incredible work” was done at Doge.