Donald Trump has opened up about his opinion on Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO's time as a 'special government employee' comes to an end.
On April 2, rumors arose about Donald Trump allegedly discussing Elon Musk 'stepping back' from his current role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
A report from Politico cited 'three Trump insiders' reporting that while the president is pleased with Musk's work with DOGE, 'in recent days', both men had decided it would be time for him to leave.
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The claims arose after a period of confusion as to what Musk's role in the government actually is - the White House stating in February he's a 'senior advisor' to Trump, but the Tesla CEO elsewhere described as a 'special government employee'.
However, any claims from inside the White House about Musk 'stepping down' were quickly squashed.
Musk's position has since been clarified as that of a special government employee (SGE), in which the reality is his time has simply come to an end - SGE's work within the government not allowed to exceed 130 days.
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Elon Musk is expected to leave his position as a special government employee (SGE) acting as the head of the Department of Efficiency (DOGE) by around 30 May.
And Trump has since addressed his departure, telling reporters while aboard Air Force One, as quoted by the Post: "I want Elon to stay as long as possible."
Trump was even so kind to Musk as to sum it up in three points just why he likes him so much.
The POTUS continued: "Number one: I like him. Number two: He’s doing a great job. Number three: He is a patriot."
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Trump doubled down adding there's 'no rush' but ultimately there 'will be a point in time' when Musk has to go, noting it's not like he doesn't have 'a number of companies to run' and get back to properly anyway.
Indeed, Musk has Tesla to get back to, and the issue of how Trump's tariffs could impact his business.
Trump unveiled a 25 percent tariff on imports of 'automobiles and certain automobile parts'.
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A White House fact sheet states the proclamation as 'addressing a critical threat to US national security' with Trump 'taking action to protect America’s automobile industry, which is vital to national security and has been undermined by excessive imports threatening America’s domestic industrial base and supply chains'.
However, Tesla wrote a letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that some of its vehicle parts are ‘difficult or impossible’ to source locally, and as at least 20 to 25 per cent of Tesla parts are imported from other countries, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it could become costly to make the cars.
Musk wrote in a post to Twitter: "Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant."
And whether that's it for Musk's political career? Well, Trump resolved he 'would' appoint the 'great' SpaceX founder in a different role in the future.
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Social Media, Tesla
Poppy Bilderbeck