Elon Musk is officially stepping down from his role as a Special Government Employee in the Trump administration, marking the end of a controversial and headline-grabbing chapter in his career. But in typical Musk fashion, he left with a parting shot—and a warning that the real work of reform has only just begun.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk posted on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

The DOGE mission—short for the Department of Government Efficiency—was launched by Trump just days after his inauguration in January 2025. He tapped Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the effort to slash waste, cut bloated bureaucracy, and streamline federal agencies. But Musk’s tenure has been anything but smooth, with reports of frustration over entrenched government red tape.

According to the New York Times, Musk has begun distancing himself from the inner workings of Washington, telling allies that while he remains on good terms with Trump, he is increasingly disillusioned with the capital’s sluggish pace and bureaucratic obstructionism. He reportedly told one source that dealing with the federal government felt like “digging through molasses with a spoon.”

Musk had been operating under the special designation that allowed him to serve in the government for up to 130 days per year—an arrangement that ends this month.

His decision to step away comes just weeks after he publicly criticized Congress’s “big, beautiful bill,” a major Trump-backed spending package, saying it undermined DOGE’s work by bloating the deficit. “A bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” Musk quipped during a Fox News interview. “But I don’t know if it can be both.”

Still, Musk’s supporters within the administration say his short time in Washington left an outsized legacy. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller praised Musk’s impact, writing on X, “The work DOGE has done to eliminate government waste and corruption — the rot embedded deep within Washington — is among the most valuable services ever rendered to government.”

Others echoed the sentiment. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA thanked Musk for changing “the culture of the federal government for the better.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declared, “You launched DOGE to save America from our national debt crisis.”

But Musk himself has sounded more cautious in recent days, hinting that his frustrations with bureaucracy may have outweighed the satisfaction of reform. Still, he’s left the door open to helping in smaller ways. In April, Musk said he might still dedicate “a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so.”

With Musk’s formal role now concluded, the future of DOGE is uncertain. But the man who helped build it insists it’s only just beginning. “The work has only just begun,” he wrote. “DOGE will outlive any one person.”

Whether the mission continues to gain traction inside the federal government—or stalls without its most famous champion—remains to be seen. But for now, Elon Musk’s federal tour of duty is over, and the billionaire disruptor is heading back to the private sector, where his next disruption may be just around the corner.