1 week ago
5
Elon Musk has formally near his relation successful Donald Trump's administration.
Mr Musk sported a achromatic oculus astatine a property league with Mr Trump successful which the president confirmed the tech billionaire's expected departure connected Friday.
The billionaire proprietor of Tesla, SpaceX, and X said his five-year-old lad X Æ A-12, oregon X for short, was liable for the bruising.
"I was horsing astir with my son... I said 'go up and punch maine successful the face', and helium did," Mr Musk told reporters successful the Oval Office.
"It turns retired a five-year-old tin punch, actually. I didn't truly consciousness overmuch astatine the time."
Please usage Chrome browser for a much accessible video player
At the property conference, Mr Trump thanked Mr Musk "for his unthinkable service" with his enactment for his assistance mounting up and moving the Department of Government Efficiency, oregon DOGE, and suggested helium would proceed to beryllium "back and forth".
The US president handed Mr Musk a aureate cardinal successful a White House-branded box, which helium described arsenic a "special present".
"Elon gave an unthinkable service. [There is] cipher similar him. And helium had to spell done the slings and the arrows, which is simply a shame, due to the fact that helium is an unthinkable patriot," Mr Trump said.
"Some of the media organisations successful this country are the slingers," Mr Musk said erstwhile asked astir the "slings and arrows" successful an evident excavation astatine The New York Times.
The US president praised Mr Musk arsenic "one of the top concern leaders and innovators the satellite has ever produced", commending him for "stepping guardant to enactment his talents into our nation" by starring DOGE.
Meanwhile, Mr Musk, who was wearing a DOGE-branded shot headdress and a T-shirt with "The Dogefather" written connected it, said it was "not the extremity of DOGE, but the beginning" and that the DOGE squad would "only turn stronger".
The 53-year-old added that helium would proceed to sojourn the White House and would inactive beryllium an advisor to Mr Trump.
During the property conference, Mr Trump besides turned to assorted conflicts astir the globe, telling reporters that Israel and Hamas are "very adjacent to an agreement" for a ceasefire successful Gaza.
The president said an statement with Iran to halt it from processing atomic weapons was besides "very close".
Meanwhile, pursuing caller tensions betwixt India and Pakistan, Mr Trump took recognition for de-escalating the concern betwixt the 2 countries.
Read much from Sky News:
How USAID cuts are affecting the world
'Harvard isn't Harvard anymore'
The US president had handed Mr Musk the task of cutting authorities spending by sacking national workers and eliminating bureaucratic discarded arsenic caput of the recently formed DOGE department.
Mr Musk oversaw drastic cuts to America's humanitarian efforts, starring to disapproval that the US was relinquishing immoderate of its planetary influence.
Despite promising to prevention taxpayers arsenic overmuch arsenic $2trn (£1.5trn), DOGE presently estimates its efforts person saved $175bn (£130bn).
Mr Musk claimed the savings could beryllium adjacent higher, saying successful the Oval Office connected Friday: "We bash expect implicit clip a trillion dollars successful savings. Say by the mediate of adjacent year, with statesmanlike support, we tin bash it."
Please usage Chrome browser for a much accessible video player
Mr Trump work retired a database of savings DOGE has allegedly made, including cutting $101m spent connected DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies successful the Department of Education, $59m connected edifice rooms for migrants successful New York, $42m connected a task for societal and behavioural alteration successful Uganda, £24m "for an Arab Sesame Street" and $8m "for making mice transgender".
But questions person been raised astir whether the section has really saved taxpayers arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic suggested.
'Irony was dead' arsenic Musk praised DOGE - past ornate decorations
Our US analogous Mark Stone shares his observations connected Musk's farewell.
"There was a consciousness irony was dead," helium says – pointing retired however Musk jumped from talking astir authorities spending cuts to praising Trump for adding ornate, golden decorations to the Oval Office.
Addressing the media Q&A, Stone describes the questions Musk and Trump faced arsenic "very soft".
"This was nary quality conference," helium says. "It's a prime radical of media who get to spell into these."
The Trump medication has made galore changes to the property excavation assigned to study from the White House successful caller months.
News agencies including Reuters person been stripped of their imperishable positions, portion right-wing influencers person been ushered in.
Meanwhile, Mr Musk - who famously brought his lad X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office - has expressed vexation astir absorption to his ideas, and clashed with different elder members of the Trump administration.
He claimed DOGE had been blamed for cuts that had thing to bash with his department.
"What we recovered was happening was if determination were immoderate cuts anywhere, radical would presume that was done by DOGE," helium explained.
"We fundamentally became the 'DOGE' boogie man."
It comes aft Mr Musk's father, Errol Musk, speaking to Gillian Joseph connected The World earlier this week, insisted determination had been "no rift betwixt Elon and Donald Trump".
Please usage Chrome browser for a much accessible video player
As a "special authorities employee", US instrumentality allowed Mr Musk to service for 130 days, which would person ended astir Friday.
He announced helium was leaving in a station connected X, in which helium said: "I would similar to convey President Donald Trump for the accidental to trim wasteful spending."
English (US) ·