Trump praises Elon Musk as he exits government, says DOGE will continue

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bid farewell to Donald Trump in an Oval Office press conference in which he sported a black eye, brushed aside drug abuse claims and vowed to stay a "friend and advisor" to the U.S. president.

Trump hailed Musk's "incredible service" and handed him a golden key to the White House. 

But the president insisted that Musk was "really not leaving.”

"Many of the DOGE people" are staying on, Trump said, "And Elon's really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth." 

Trump also said his administration is "committed" to making the cuts made by DOGE permanent and will seek codification by Congress.

DOGE's achievements fell far short of Musk's original goal of saving $2 trillion. The White House said DOGE has made $170 billion in savings so far. The independent "Doge Tracker" site has counted just $12 billion while the Atlantic magazine put it far lower, at $2 billion.

But many people were more interested in the livid black bruise around Musk's right eye.

Speculation about the cause was further fuelled by accusations in the New York Times on Friday that Musk used so much of the drug ketamine on the 2024 campaign trail that he developed bladder problems.

Musk said his son was to blame for the injury. 

"I was just horsing around with lil' X, and I said, 'Go ahead punch me in the face,'" 53-year-old Musk said. "And he did. Turns out even a five-year-old punching you in the face actually is..." he added, before tailing off.

Musk, however, dodged a question about the drug allegations.

The New York Times said Musk, the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 election campaign, also took ecstasy and psychoactive mushrooms and travelled with a pill box last year.

Musk, who has long railed against the news media and championed his X social media platform as an alternative, took aim at the paper instead.

He is leaving Trump's administration after admitting disillusionment with his role and criticizing the Republican president's spending plans.

Earlier this week, Musk said he was "disappointed" in Trump's planned mega tax and spending bill as it undermined DOGE's cuts.

Musk's companies, meanwhile, have suffered. Tesla shareholders called for him to return to work as sales slumped and protests targeted the electric vehicle maker, while SpaceX had a series of fiery rocket failures.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)