US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Elon Musk could remain part of the White House team for as long as he wished, while acknowledging the billionaire's desire to return focus to his business ventures.

Musk had previously announced plans to scale back his involvement in the administration's informal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in order to dedicate more time to Tesla, which has faced increasing challenges and public backlash in recent months.

"The vast majority of the people in this country really respect and appreciate you," Trump told Musk during a cabinet meeting, which may have marked Musk’s final appearance in his DOGE role.

"And you know you're invited to stay as long as you want," Trump added. "But you may want to get back home to your cars."

Musk, the world's richest individual, has seen Tesla's brand suffer due to his high-profile political activities and proximity to Trump. The electric carmaker has faced vandalism and boycott calls in both Europe and the US, amid public anger over public service cuts Musk helped draft as part of his advisory role.

"You really have sacrificed a lot. They treated you very unfairly," Trump said, defending Musk from his critics. In response, Musk said, "They did like to burn my cars, which is not great."

Rumors of Tesla CEO succession denied

On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla’s board had initiated a search for Musk’s successor as CEO, citing anonymous sources. According to the report, the board allegedly met with Musk weeks ago and urged him to focus more on Tesla than his government advisory duties.

However, Tesla denied the report, with Board Chairperson Robyn Denholm stating on X, "There was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company. This is absolutely false. The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead.”

Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.

This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).

The CEO of Tesla is…

— Tesla (@Tesla) May 1, 2025

David Sacks, a Musk ally and member of the Trump administration, confirmed that Musk would not be leaving DOGE entirely but would scale back his involvement. He likened the move to Musk’s approach following his 2022 takeover of Twitter.

"Once he felt like he had a mental model and he had the people in place that he trusted, he can move to more of a maintenance mode," Sacks said during an episode of the All-In podcast.