Elon Musk Says He's Leaving Trump Administration

Elon Musk says his time working with President Trump as a special government employee is coming to an end.

The world's richest man announced his impending departure from the Trump administration Wednesday with a post on his social media platform, X.

Elon says ... "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."

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

Elon helped lead DOGE -- the Department of Government Efficiency -- since the start of the second Trump presidency in January and his time as a designated special government employee was scheduled to run out this week.

Musk's designation allowed him to work in government for 130 days while being exempt from some rules regarding ethics and conflicts of interest ... but that period was about to run out.

In a strange twist, Elon's exit comes on the heels of his criticism of some recent Trump legislation, which POTUS is calling his "big, beautiful" bill.

Elon's got a lot going on outside of Washington ... he's also got companies to run at SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and The Boring Company.