Controversy has swirled around Elon Musk from the moment he threw his lot in with Donald Trump ahead of his election.
His appointment to the head of the Department of Government Efficiency only intensified public scrutiny – and the scope for scandal.
Now less than four months after assuming the role, Trump has reportedly told his inner circle that Musk, 53, will be stepping back.
His designation as a special government employee meant he was scheduled to step down in May but he’s now reportedly leaving early in a cloud of controversy.
The president has always been quick to assure the public he is happy with the ‘first buddy’ and his work.
However, with the defeat of a Musk-backed Supreme Court judge just the latest in a series of missteps, it appears the writing may have always been on the wall.
Judicial loss
The defeat of an Elon Musk-backed judicial candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is the latest blow to the billionaire, who is reportedly stepping down from his role as head of DOGE
The defeat of Republican-backed Judge Brad Schimel was a blow to Musk, who had publicly and financially supported his campaign.
Schimel lost to Democrat-backed Judge Susan Crawford, despite Musk’s glitzy promotional campaign which included cutting million dollar checks for two Wisconsin voters at an event ahead of the election.
Musk and groups he supports spent more than $20 million to help the conservative favorite win Tuesday’s race but their efforts fell flat.
Some GOP analysts blamed Musk’s increasingly polarizing persona for the loss.
Nazi salutes
The Tesla billionaire sparked a furious backlash after making a gesture which resembled a Nazi salute on stage following the president’s inauguration.
Musk only fanned the flames of suspicion by not explicitly denying the claims in a series of posts.
The Tesla billionaire sparked a furious backlash after making a gesture which resembled a Nazi salute on stage following the president’s inauguration
‘The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,’ Musk posted on X several hours after he left the stage.
He made light of the criticism and lashed out at people making that interpretation.
Mass layoffs
As his first order of business, Musk set about completely shutting down USAID, the federal agency responsible for delivering overseas aid and gutting other federal agencies.
While the move was lauded as a win for efficiency by his supporters, it was not just the thousands of axed employees who were furious.
After USAID was culled, humanitarian workers told stories of how they were forced to turn away hungry children in disaster zones as they were queuing for food.
Last month a judge ruled the drastic action likely violated the constitution and ordered the computer access be granted.
DOGE gutted USAID and other federal agencies virtually on day one resulting in mass firings
Geopolitical experts also speculated that the sudden vacuum created by the US’ withdrawal of aid could exacerbate the nation’s position on the world stage and create further instability.
Numerous top officials were also reportedly angry after they were blindsided by the cuts.
Clashes with Chief of Staff
Behind every great man is a woman so the saying goes and in the president’s case there are several.
But perhaps none so crucial to his operation as Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles, who has is rumored to have clashed with Musk.
One of Wiles’ frustrations reportedly stemmed from his failure to loop her into plans to gut federal agencies.
Vanity Fair reports that she encouraged Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other cabinet secretaries to air their grievances with Musk directly to the president after they came to vent to her about the.
Musk is rumored to have clashed with White House Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles
H1-B Saga
Musk almost sparked a Republican civil war back in December over his support for H1-B visas, which allow highly educated immigrants to work in the US for up to six years.
MAGA loyalists were against the visas, arguing they led to jobs which could be filled by Americans going to foreigners.
Previously Trump criticized the H-1B visas, calling them ‘very bad’ and ‘unfair’ for U.S. workers.
During his first term as president, he unveiled a ‘Hire American’ policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.
But despite his criticism of them and attempts to curb their use, he has also used the visas at his businesses in the past.
After Musk threatened to ‘go to war’ with MAGA sceptics, the president came out in support of the visas.
Son’s constant presence
Critics have questioned how appropriate it is that Musk brings his four-year-old son X to official events
The president is famously reluctant to share the spotlight but appears to have made an exception for X, Musk’s son.
The four-year-old has become a near-constant presence at photo opportunities, stealing the show everywhere from the Oval Office to Air Force One.
However, critics including the youngster’s own mom Grimes, have questioned how appropriate it is to have a child at major political events.
The singer, real name Claire Boucher, took to Musk’s X social media platform to berate him for constantly parading their son around.
She also begged people not to re-share the high-profile images in a bid to protect her son’s privacy.
Baby mama drama
Musk’s conflict with Grimes is not the only parental battle he is currently fighting.
Conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair who claims Musk is the father to her son has very publicly been dragging him for allegedly slashing her child support payments in half.
Ashley St Clair has been causing headaches for Musk after she revealed he allegedly slashed her child support payment by 60%
St. Clair, 26, says she’s been forced to sell her Tesla after the world’s richest man cut her child support in half.
She was spotted handing over the keys to her black Model S outside her Manhattan apartment on Saturday.
‘I need to make up for the 60% cut that Elon made to our son’s child support,’ she told a DailyMail.com reporter who witnessed her handing the $100,000 car over to a representative from the online auto sales giant Carvana.
When asked if she felt Musk was being ‘vindictive’ toward her, St. Clair, responded: ‘Well, that’s his modus operandi, when women speak out.
‘You can check the stocks, I’m not the only one who is cleaning up after his messes.’
Tesla sales plummeting
While Musk’s political stock has been on the rise, Tesla sales have slumped.
Amid a backlash to Musk’s behavior, he reportedly lost $29 billion in a day due to losses.
The electric vehicles have also been subjected to a wave of anti-Tesla protests and vandalism as part of a backlash against Musk’s behavior.
Tesla sales have slumped to their lowest in three years, adding to Musk’s woes
Today the electric car company said it had delivered 336,681 vehicles in the three months to the end of March – its weakest sales performance since the second quarter of 2022.
Tesla said it produced 362,615 vehicles in total over the quarter. Its share price dropped two per cent on Wednesday, continuing a run of weakness that has cost the company around 45 per cent of its value since December.
The latest sales figure was also significantly below the roughly 390,000 figure predicted by industry analysts.
Musk became Tesla CEO in 2008. Amid the news of his departure for DOGE and a return to his business roots, the firm saw an uptick in share price.
White House Tesla advert
Amid the dismal sales and destruction of Tesla cars, the president turned the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla showroom.
Five different models – including the infamous cybertruck – were put on display on the driveway as Trump read out a list of their attributes, seemingly directly from a Tesla sales pitch.
President Trump turned the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla showroom as a show of solidarity for the flailing company
‘I think (Musk has) been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people, and I just want people to know that he can’t be penalized for being a patriot,’ Trump said.
The night before, the president vowed to purchase a Tesla in a post on Truth Social.
The move was heavily criticized by ethics experts who said it blurs the line of proper conduct for elected officials.
‘It could be reasonably assumed by some that the White House and the president’s endorsement is up for sale,’ William F. Hall, an adjunct professor of political science at Webster University, told ABC.
It was also interpreted as a lose-lose PR stunt.
Conservative Trump supporters tend to be suspicious of EVs, with the president himself slamming Joe Biden’s desire to phase out gas cars for electic.
But those who do buy the cars tend to skew more liberal.
And having a figure as divisive as President Trump joining the ranks of Tesla owners will do little for the brand’s image among that subset of drivers.
