The Big Story 

Elon Musk’s plan to wind down his work at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is raising questions about the future of the cost-cutting push that has defined his brief but controversial tenure in the administration. 

© Greg Nash

Musk revealed Tuesday that he will dedicate less time to DOGE starting next month, as Tesla suffers from blowback to his work for Trump, which has spurred dozens of lawsuits, protests and even vandalism.

DOGE’s general goal is shared broadly among White House officials, who have pushed for major cuts to the size of the federal workforce.

But with its unofficial leader taking a step back, DOGE sits in a precarious position, as it remains unclear whether the initiative has enough momentum to drive forward with Musk’s ambitious goals on its own. 

“Musk is personally driving this,” said Matt Calkins, CEO of software firm Appian, adding, “I believe that he’s gathered people who have a similar attitude, but there’s nothing like having the captain on board the ship.”

Musk is serving in the administration as a “special government employee,” which requires him to leave his role after 130 days.

When asked last month whether he would depart at the end of this period, the tech billionaire signaled he planned to wrap up his work. 

“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that timeframe,” Musk told Fox News host Brett Baier, even though federal deficits have increased since Trump took office.

He more explicitly confirmed his plans to wind down his work at DOGE on Tesla’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday, although he suggested he would not entirely depart the administration. 

“Starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said.

“I’ll have to continue doing it for, I think, the remainder of the president’s term just to make sure that the waste and fraud doesn’t come roaring back, which we’ll do, if it has the chance.” 

The Tesla CEO said he will likely spend one to two days of the week on “government matters” while dedicating “far more of my time to Tesla now that the major work of establishing” DOGE is “done.”  

The announcement came as a relief to the company’s investors, who have watched with growing concern as Musk’s work in the Trump administration has weighed significantly on the EV firm.  

“The clock struck midnight — he had to choose Tesla or DOGE,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said. “The brand damage that it had seen globally, the only way it ends is if Musk takes a big step back from DOGE and the Trump White House.” 

“DOGE took on a life of its own that I think even Elon underestimated,” Ives added. 

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com tomorrow.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Crypto Corner 

Adams to host New York crypto summit

© AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., file

Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.

New York City will host its first-ever crypto summit next month, Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced Thursday. 

“We’re not holding meme coins, but we ARE holding New York City’s first-ever Crypto Summit on May 20,” Adams wrote on X.

“Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser and I will be welcoming crypto experts to NYC to see how we can become the WORLD CAPITOL of cryptocurrency and bring over $1 TRILLION in assets to our city.” 

Attendees of the summit will include CEOs, founders, and investors in the cryptocurrency, blockchain and fintech spaces. 

The event aims to emphasize Adams’ “forward-thinking leadership on digital technologies,” the mayor’s office said in a release.

Adams was the first mayor to have mayoral paychecks converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

The summit in the Big Apple comes after the White House Digital Assets Summit, hosted by President Trump last month. The event marked the first of its kind and brought various industry leaders together for a roundtable discussion on crypto policy priorities. 

The New York City event underscores a broader embrace of crypto beyond just Washington and the White House.

The mayor’s office emphasized Adams has welcomed emerging technologies “to build a safer, affordable city for New Yorkers.” 

ICYMI: Coinbase, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced Thursday it will waive fees for transactions with PayPal’s stablecoin to boost the use of the coin. 

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