Trump says Musk was 'terrific', to hold joint press conference with him

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump praised Elon Musk, whose tenure in the administration is ending, and said he will hold a press conference with the billionaire at the White House on Friday (30).

"This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Elon is terrific!"

Musk announced he was stepping down from his White House stint on Wednesday, giving Tesla investors some succor amid sliding sales.

The billionaire spearheaded Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), charged with cutting federal spending.

On Tuesday, Musk criticized the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation 'One Big Beautiful Bill' making its way through Congress.

He also recently pledged to spend less money on politics after shelling out nearly $300 million on Trump's presidential campaign and on other Republican candidates last year.

DOGE may 'fizzle out'

Sahil Lavingia, a software engineer of Indian heritage who spent almost two months working for the group of pro-Musk technologists, and was fired early this month, said he expects DOGE to quickly "fizzle out."

"It'll just die a whimper," the 32-year-old founder and CEO of creator platform Gumroad told Reuters.

"So much of the appeal and allure was Elon." He said he expected DOGE staffers to "just stop showing up to work. It's like kids joining a startup that will go out of business in four months."

That would cap a remarkable undoing for DOGE, which Musk initially vowed would cut $2 trillion in federal spending.

Instead, DOGE estimates its efforts have saved around $175 billion so far and the group's tallies have been riddled with errors.

The White House praised DOGE but did not comment on Lavingia.

"DOGE is integral to the federal government's operations, and its mission, as established by the President's executive order, will continue under the direction of agency and department heads in the Trump administration," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Lavingia is the son of Singapore-based investment bankers of Indian origin.