WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that his billionaire ally Elon Musk will soon step back from his government role, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing three people close to Trump.
Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with leading efforts to cut government funding and dismantle various US agencies as a special government employee. Politico reported that both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that Musk will soon return to his businesses, but gave no specific date.
Representatives for the White House, the Musk-led task force and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Shares of some companies, including government contracting companies, rose following the report. Shares of Musk’s Tesla, which were down 2% in early trading after a sharper-than-expected fall in first-quarter deliveries, reversed course and were up 3%.
Trump and Musk have both recently indicated that Musk would move on but have not said when.
Asked if he wanted Musk to stay longer than his 130-day term, Trump told reporters on Monday: “I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run. At some point, he’s going to be going back. He wants to”.
Based on a 130-day term, Musk’s time as a special government employee would be set to end as soon as the end of May. He told Fox News last week that he was confident he would finish most of the work to cut $1 trillion in federal spending.
