Is Elon Musk on his way out?

Elon Musk waves to the crowd as he exits the stage during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis.

Elon Musk waves to the crowd as he exits the stage during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis.

Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Reuters

Donald Trump is reportedly telling people that he and Elon Musk have agreed that Musk’s work in the US government will soon be done. Politico’s story broke just as Musk seems to have discovered the electoral limits of his charm.

Musk, who has been leading a contentious push to cut spending with his Department of Government Efficiency, is becoming less popular, which is taking a toll on his electric automobile company, Tesla.

Musk’s money and organizational support helped get Trump elected, but the billionaire hit a political wall in Wisconsin on Tuesday when Democrats easily won a state supreme court contest that he had said was important “for the future of civilization.” Musk and allies spent $20 million and gave out two $1-million checks in a lottery-style giveaway to boost the Republican vote. The Tesla CEO even attended a rally in a cheesehead hat, but the Democrats still won, keeping their majority on the court.

The departure of Musk, whose wide-ranging cuts have been cheered by some Republicans but booed by others, could remove an irritant with voters who object to Musk’s layoffs and firings. But he and Trump are expected to remain political allies even after Musk leaves the government, in part because Trump will want his money and organizational help in the midterms.

More from GZERO Media

Riot police officers fire tear gas canisters to disperse demonstrators during anti-government protests dubbed “Saba Saba People’s March,” in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, Kenya, on July 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Suleiman Mbatiah

Kenya’s president orders police to shoot at protesters, European nuclear powers expand umbrella, and US President Donald Trump goes after Brazil.

Hezbollah beat on their chests as a sign of mourning during a mass rally to mark Ashoura, commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration’s envoy to Lebanon, Tom Barrack, received a stunning proposal from the Lebanese government– a plan to disarm Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed Shia militia group that has dominated Lebanon’s politics and fought two major wars with Israel over the past 20 years.

- YouTube

In this episode of Ian Bremmer’s Quick Take, Ian breaks down the growing crisis between the US and Brazil, sparked by Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil.

- YouTube

“Tech is a means to an end, not the end itself,” says Hovig Etyemezian, head of UNHCR’s Innovation Service. Speaking to GZERO's Tony Maciulis at the 2025 AI for Good Summit in Geneva, Etyemezian explains how technology is helping address one of the world’s most urgent challenges: the record number of forcibly displaced people. As conflicts rise and resources shrink, UNHCR is using data, AI, and digital tools to improve services and empower refugee communities, but only when designed with those communities, not for them.

Over the last decade, the world of space exploration and innovation has exploded. On this episode of Next Giant Leap, season 2 hosts Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space, and Mike Massimino, Columbia Engineering professor and former NASA astronaut, take a look at the new space race with former Congresswoman Jane Harman and China expert Dean Cheng. They discuss the role of space in national security, the potential for space-based conflict, and the role of private space companies in this new era.

Elon Musk in an America Party hat.
Jess Frampton

Life comes at you fast. Only five weeks after vowing to step back from politics and a month after accusing President Donald Trump of being a pedophile, Elon Musk declared his intention to launch a new political party offering Americans an alternative to the Republicans and Democrats.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (right) crying as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London, United Kingdom, on July 2, 2025.
PA Images via Reuters Connect

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struggled during his first year in office, an ominous sign for centrists in Western democracies.