Elon Musk has officially stepped away from his role in the Trump administration, ending his time leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — a program aimed at cutting waste and reducing the size of the federal government.

In a post on his platform X, Musk thanked former President Donald Trump, saying:

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

Musk’s departure was expected due to a rule that limited his federal role to 130 days per year. But the timing raised eyebrows — it came just after he criticized Trump’s massive new spending bill, calling it wasteful and saying it worked against everything DOGE was trying to do.

“I don’t think a bill can be both big and beautiful,” Musk said in a recent CBS interview. “It adds to the deficit and goes against our mission.”

During his time at DOGE, Musk promised deep cuts to government spending. While he initially aimed to slash $2 trillion, that number dropped several times, ending at a $150 billion goal. Still, the effort led to over 260,000 federal job cuts — some of which were later reversed by courts after complaints.

Some of those cuts affected important areas like the U.S. nuclear program, leading to concern about the speed and impact of DOGE’s actions.

Musk admitted the backlash was getting personal. “DOGE became the target for everything wrong in government,” he said during a SpaceX launch in Texas this week.

Meanwhile, his company Tesla was struggling. Car sales dropped 13% earlier this year — the worst in Tesla’s history — and the stock lost nearly half its value before recovering slightly. Protesters vandalized Tesla cars and charging stations, prompting the U.S. Attorney General to warn that such acts would be treated as “domestic terrorism.”

Musk recently told investors he would now spend more time focusing on Tesla and confirmed in Qatar that he plans to stay as CEO for at least five more years. He also said he’ll reduce his political donations, after giving nearly $300 million to Trump’s campaign and other Republicans last year.

Although Musk is stepping away from government work, he says DOGE isn’t done.

“This isn’t the end of government reform,” he said. “It’s just the beginning of doing it smarter.”