Musk owes much of his wealth to government subsidies and contracts, and many of DOGE’s moves have squashed government oversight into his businesses. As long as Trump keeps giving him unprecedented power, the tech oligarch and fascism enthusiast will continue to keep serving his own interests.

Elon Musk will "remain a friend and an adviser" of President Donald Trump after the Tesla CEO leaves his current role with the Department of Government Efficiency, Vice President JD Vance has said. Vance said in an interview earlier on Thursday that DOGE had a significant amount of work to do and would continue without Musk at some point.

Ross Gerber said Tesla's brand crisis spanned far beyond Elon Musk's involvement at the White House DOGE office.