WASHINGTON, May 30, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump hosts a 
grand Oval Office farewell for Elon Musk on Friday as the world's richest man 
ends his turbulent reign as the government's cost cutter-in-chief.

The pair will hold a joint press conference at 1.30pm (1730 GMT), with Trump 
attempting to put a positive spin on Musk's departure from the so-called 
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after just four months.

Trump, 78, praised the "terrific" Musk on Thursday and insisted that his 
influence would continue despite the South African-born tech tycoon returning 
to his Space X and Tesla companies.

"This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with 
us, helping all the way," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Vice President JD Musk praised Musk's "incredible" job in an interview with 
Newsmax and vowed that "the DOGE effort will continue."

But the news conference will be a far cry from Musk's first dramatic 
appearance in the Oval Office in February, when he brought his young son with 
him and outshone even the attention-seeking president himself.

At the time the 53-year-old was almost inseparable from Trump, glued to his 
side on Air Force One, Marine One, in the White House and at Trump's Mar-a-
Lago resort in Florida.

Yet Musk is now leaving Trump's administration under a cloud, after openly 
admitting disillusionment with his role, and criticizing the Republican 
president's spending plans.

- DOGE rampage -

The right-wing magnate's DOGE has led an ideologically-driven rampage through 
the federal government, with its young "tech bros" slashing tens of thousands 
of jobs.

It has also shuttered whole departments including the US Agency for 
International Development (USAID), leading to huge cuts in foreign aid that 
critics say will hit some of the world's poorest people and boost US rivals.

But DOGE's achievements fell far short of Musk's boasts when he blazed into 
Washington brandishing a chainsaw at a conservative event and bragged that it 
would be easy to cut two trillion dollars.

Trump also loudly proclaimed that DOGE was cutting "waste" and would 
regularly reel off long lists of alleged fraud that Musk's team was 
discovering, including social security claimants older than the world's 
oldest person.

In reality, the independent "Doge Tracker" site has counted just $12 billion 
in savings so far while the Atlantic magazine put it far lower, at $2 
billion.

Musk's Silicon Valley-style "move fast and break things" mantra was also at 
odds with some of his Washington colleagues.

He clashed with other cabinet members and said in an interview earlier this 
week that he was "disappointed" in Trump's recent mega tax and spending bill 
as it undermined DOGE's cuts.

Musk's companies, meanwhile, were suffering.

Tesla shareholders called for him to return to work as sales slumped and 
protests targeted the electric vehicle maker, while Space X had a series of 
fiery rocket failures.

At Friday's press conference Musk may also face questions over a New York 
Times report alleging intensive drug use by the tycoon while on the campaign 
trail for Trump last year.

The Times said the 53-year-old told friends he was taking so much of the 
anesthetic ketamine "that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of 
chronic use."

Musk has previously admitted to taking ketamine, saying he was prescribed it 
to treat a "negative frame of mind" and suggesting his use of drugs benefited 
Tesla investors.