**Elon Musk Discovers a Harsh Reality in Washington: Budget Cuts Are Unpopular**

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and former Trump administration adviser, has come face-to-face with a hard truth about Washington's spending habits. Investor Ross Gerber recently highlighted Musk's frustrations in a post on X, stating, "After 4 months Elon learned what every natural born American already knows. No one in the government wants to 'cut' any budget."

For the past four months, Musk has led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a contentious initiative aimed at reducing costs through mass layoffs and agency shutdowns. Despite his efforts, Musk has become increasingly disillusioned with the reluctance of government officials to implement budget cuts. On Thursday, Musk announced on X that his "scheduled time" as a special government employee had concluded.

In a CBS News interview, Musk criticized the Trump administration’s major tax and spending legislation, dubbed the "Big, Beautiful Bill." He argued that the bill would increase the budget deficit rather than decrease it, thereby undermining the efforts of the DOGE team. "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful," Musk stated in the interview. "But I don't know if it can be both."

Despite being a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and investing over $250 million into Trump's 2024 campaign, Musk has recently stepped back from the political spotlight. During a Tesla earnings call, he mentioned he would be reducing his time with DOGE to focus more on the company. "The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place... is mostly done," Musk explained.

Tesla has also been facing challenges. In April, European sales of Tesla vehicles dropped by 49%, even though the overall electric vehicle market grew by 28%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. Analysts attribute this decline to several factors, including Musk's political involvement, factory shutdowns, and an aging lineup of vehicles.

Musk has promoted DOGE as a trillion-dollar cost-saving initiative, but its claimed savings of $175 billion have been met with skepticism by watchdog groups and fact-checkers. Musk acknowledged the limitations of DOGE in a recent post, stating that while it has made significant strides, the government's "profligacy" means that only significant productivity gains can prevent America’s financial collapse. He hinted at the potential for humanoid robots to drive economic growth.

Renowned economist Peter Schiff of Europac.com expressed doubts about DOGE’s impact, stating on X, "Unfortunately I think DOGE was too little, too late to really move the needle on a sovereign debt and dollar crisis. The process has already started."