The SpaceX founder has set his sights back on Mars
Elon Musk has revealed his ambitious plans for the future following his resignation from President Donald Trump’s administration.
The billionaire announced earlier this week that he would be stepping down from his position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk was appointed as an unelected official by Trump after forming a close friendship with the president during his election campaign.
Last year, the Tesla boss donated a whopping $288 million to Trump’s campaign and, since the inauguration in January, Musk has been busy hacking away at the federal budget as part of DOGE’s mission to cut back on government spending.
On Wednesday (May 28), the mogul took to his own social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to share the news that he was stepping down, writing: “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.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Just hours before announcing his departure, Musk shared why he was disappointed in Trump.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
Titled the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’, the new budget is promising tax cuts and further military spending, while cutting some federal health and energy programs.
Musk went on to say: “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both.”
Now, it seems that Musk will be using his time to focus on his other ventures after announcing new plans for SpaceX.
On Thursday (May 29), the world’s richest man hosted an event which outlined the space company’s plans to colonize Mars.
Elon Musk has plans to colonize Mars (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Musk said that SpaceX intends to launch its first crewed mission to the planet as early as next year, with the spacecraft being manned by a Tesla robot.
Musk went on to say: “Launching two years later, we would be sending humans, assuming the first missions are successful.”
It is hoped that the first few launches will include transporting a small number of settlers who will be focused on building infrasture on the Red Planet.
Musk continued: “Having two strong, self-sustaining planets will be critical for the long-term survival of civilization.”
But Musk doesn’t intend to just stop there, instead he has dreams of reaching as far as the Asteroid Belt and Jupiter’s moons and one day, even other solar systems.
The battle lines have been drawn, and while some of us sit back with a bucket of popcorn to watch the sparks fly, others are wading straight into the escalating feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
The President of the United States and his First Buddy celebrated six good months, but after that, the honeymoon period is well and truly over. After Elon Musk took umbrage with Donald Trump‘s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it became clear to many that things were only going to go one way. The White House responded after Musk branded the bill a ‘disgusting abomination’, but little did we know this was just the start of the scandal.
Musk unexpectedly took to X to seemingly implicate the President in the Epstein Files, and not stopping there, vowed to pull SpaceX out of the space program while also calling for Trump to be impeached. Trump has laughed things off so far, claiming that the world’s richest man is suffering from ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’, and while there are reports of potential peace talks between the pair, others think there’s no coming back from this.
Steve Bannon has called for Trump to seize SpaceX from Musk (Brandon Bell / Staff / Getty)
The flames are now being fanned by former White House official Steve Bannon. After Musk’s SpaceX threat, Bannon called for Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act and seize control of the company from the tech billionaire. It comes after Musk seemed to suggest he’d decommission the Dragon craft, which is used to ferry astronauts back and forth from the International Space Station.
Speaking on his War Room podcast, Bannon said: “The action that President Trump should be taking immediately, I think, is when [Musk] threatens to take one of the big programs out of Space X, President Trump tonight should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act to be called in on SpaceX and seize SpaceX tonight, before midnight.”
Not stopping there, Bannon branded Musk a ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’, and despite being declared a US citizen in 2002, Trump’s former aide said the South African native should be deported: “I happen to believe, given the facts that I’ve been shown, that he is an illegal alien. Illegal alien’s gotta be deported.”
Although he wouldn’t divulge what information he’s supposedly received, Bannon continued: “Elon Musk is illegal. He’s got to go too…Deport immediately.”
Doubling down on his thoughts about the world’s richest man, Bannon also spoke to The New York Times and again called for Musk to be deported: “They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,”
He concluded by offering to diagnose the ‘problem’ with Musk: “Here’s the problem with Elon. Very simple. He promised a trillion dollars in cuts in waste, fraud, and abuse, and listen – for all the fanboys out there,” he said. “I’m gonna treat you fanboys like little puppies; they’re gonna rub your nose in the mess you made.”
White House responds to Elon Musk’s explosive rant over Trump’s ‘disgusting abomination’
It looks like things are falling apart in Washington, with the battle lines being drawn between members of the Republican Party.
There were already rumbles of dissent in the ranks, with so-called First Buddy Elon Musk taking aim at President Donald Trump’s big, beautiful bill.
The world’s richest man already announced he was stepping away from politics and his position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, but did anyone expect him to do it in quite such an explosive way?
Never one to mince his words, Elon Musk has taken to X to blast Donald Trump and refer to his agenda bill as a ‘disgusting abomination’.
Calling out those who voted through the $4 trillion debt ceiling hike, Musk raged: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
In a follow-up post, the tech mogul added that the bill “will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
It didn’t take long for the White House to respond, with Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on the official stance.
Doocy said: “How mad do you think Trump is going to be when he finds out what Elon Musk said?”
A defiant Leavitt replied: “The President already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one, big, beautiful bill and he’s sticking to it.”
The bill narrowly passed the House and now lies with the Senate, although the upper chamber might be even harder to clear.
Trump faces plenty of backlash from senators, including Kentucky’s Rand Paul, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, and more. In particular, Paul sided with Musk and objected to raising the debt ceiling. This caught the attention of the POTUS, who accused the Kentucky senator of saying “NO on everything” and never having “practical or constructive ideas.”
According to The Hill, Trump is working on turning his critics around, with a source telling the outlet, “He knows the list.” There will apparently be numerous meetings as we move forward, with Trump ‘personally advocating’ for the bill.
Leavitt has relayed the White House’s response, concluding: “Those senators, it’s not news that they disagree with this president on policy, and the president has vocally called them out for it and for not having their facts together.”
She says the Congressional Budget Office is ‘historically wrong’ when it comes to its cost projections of the GOP plan. Whether that big, beautiful bill will make it through or be downsized to more of a little, beautiful bill, it sounds like there’s no love lost between Musk and Trump.
Donald Trump reveals Elon Musk ‘isn’t really leaving’ White House in shock Oval Office meeting
In a surprise twist that has political watchers raising eyebrows and tech fans doing double-takes, Donald Trump has revealed that Elon Musk isn’t actually leaving his post at the White House — at least, not fully.
Reported by The Guardian, the two appeared side by side in the Oval Office on Friday for what was expected to be Elon Musk’s official send-off as the head of the much-talked-about “department of government efficiency,” better known by its meme-worthy acronym: DOGE.
But just as everyone thought the tech billionaire was about to bow out, President Trump made a shock announcement.
The president told reporters: “Elon is really not leaving”.
Trump added: “He’s going to be back and forth. I think I have a feeling it’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
While Musk’s official role as a “special government employee” might be winding down, both he and Trump made it clear the relationship is far from over.
Musk said during the press event: “This is not the end of Doge but really the beginning”.
The tech billionaire added: “I hope to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like.” Trump, quick to respond, simply added: “I hope so.”
Despite recent tensions between the two, especially after Musk publicly slammed one of Trump’s latest tax bills, Friday’s vibe was more bromance than breakup.
Trump heaped praise on Musk, calling him “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced.” He also gave Musk a golden key emblazoned with the White House seal, saying it was something he only gave to “very special people.”
Elon Musk receiving a key from President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The moment wasn’t without its lighter and stranger moments either.
Musk rocked up wearing a full-black outfit, topped with a ‘Doge’ cap and a T-shirt that read “The Dogefather.” But what really caught attention was the big ol’ bruise under his right eye.
Asked what happened, Musk casually dropped that his son, X Æ A-12, gave it to him.
“I was just horsing around with X and I said: ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did,” Musk said. “I didn’t really feel much at the time. But I guess it bruises up.”
He joked that he wasn’t “anywhere near France,” referencing a viral clip involving French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
And if all that wasn’t wild enough, Musk neatly sidestepped a question about a New York Times report claiming he used drugs while serving in his advisory role, including ketamine and psychedelics.
“Let’s move on,” he said, before blasting the Times for its past reporting on the Russia investigation.
So, while Musk might be handing over the Doge reins, it’s clear he’s not going far.
