News - Middle East: US tech billionaire Elon Musk has announced his departure from the administration of US President Donald Trump after the businessman upended several federal agencies but ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had promised.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote on social media.

Sources say Musk’s departure was decided "at a senior staff level," and that it had been discussed since April.

His exit comes a day after he criticized Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, calling it too expensive and a measure that would undermine his work with the US Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).

"The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized," Musk said in an interview. "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least."

The bill will reportedly add about $3.9 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the US Congressional Budget Office.

The 1,000-page legislation extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, while also funding many of his campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in an interview on Sunday.

Musk initially appeared as a powerful force in Trump’s orbit but failed to fulfill his promise of cutting at least $2 trillion in federal spending, with federal courts at times propping back up agencies shortly after DOGE had moved to eliminate them.

In some cases, staff and funding cuts have led to purchasing bottlenecks, increased costs, and a brain drain of scientific and technological talent in the US.

The DOGE website shows it has only achieved about $175 billion in savings, or $1,088.96 per US taxpayer.

Over time, the US president’s senior cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, grew more confident pushing back against Musk's job cuts, encouraged by Trump's reminder in early March that staffing decisions rested with department secretaries, not with Musk.

The American billionaire, who poured nearly $300 million into Trump’s presidential run, also clashed with Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro, calling him a "moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks."

Reports indicate that Musk had also recently expressed frustration to White House officials over a deal between Abu Dhabi and OpenAI, the Sam Altman-led rival to Musk’s own AI company. Musk had previously tried to derail the deal unless his company was included in it.

By the end of April, he signaled his exit from the US administration to focus on his business, adding that he would substantially cut his political spending.

“Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out,” Musk posted on his X platform last week.

Musk's 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire around May 30.

Trump and DOGE have reportedly cut nearly 12%, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts, and early retirement offers.

Both Musk and Trump said DOGE efforts to cut federal spending would continue.

"The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," Musk said.

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