In a heartfelt Oval Office ceremony on May 30, President Donald Trump bestowed a golden key adorned with the White House insignia upon Elon Musk, marking the tech titan’s departure from his role as a Special Government Employee (SGE) leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
President Trump presents @ElonMusk with a gold key to the White House for his service. 🔑🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jKAyLmkK0d
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 30, 2025
The press conference celebrated Musk’s 130-day tenure, which Trump hailed as transformative, crediting him with $160 billion in federal savings.
Trump, dubbing Musk “a fantastic friend” and “one of the greatest business leaders,” reserved the rare honour for “very special people.”
Although Musk formally exited the administration, Trump said that “he’s going to be back and forth, I imagine.” Meanwhile, the richest man in the world said, “I hope to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like.” “I hope so,” the commander-in-chief replied.
The SpaceX founder’s farewell comes after he announced on X, that his “scheduled time” in the Trump administration has “come to an end.” He thanked the president for giving him the “opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
