Tech billionaire Elon Musk is prompting questions about his next steps as he signals he might wind down his political activity.

This week, the Tesla CEO said he’s planning to scale back his spending after injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the 2024 election, a big potential blow for GOP campaign coffers moving forward.

The announcement comes as Musk also cools his involvement in the Trump White House to turn more attention to his businesses — even as voices on both sides of the aisle are skeptical that the megadonor will make a full exit from politics.

“Anytime the biggest donor says he's going to pull back, that's a concern for the party,” said GOP strategist Alex Conant.

“These megadonors, you have to earn their support every cycle. The party can't and doesn't take them for granted. He says he's planning to pull back, but if we have a presidential nominee in ‘28 that excites Musk, you could see him doubling down.”

Musk, the world’s richest man with a staggering $420 billion net worth, according to Forbes, spent at least $250 million to boost Trump through his America PAC. Now that Trump is back in the Oval Office, Musk has embraced an unprecedented role in the new Republican administration.

The tech mogul was tapped to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, championing controversial cost-cutting and workforce-reducing moves that have sent shockwaves throughout the federal government.

Musk keeps an office in the White House complex, has slept over in the Lincoln Bedroom and has characterized his relationship with the president as “good friends.” He’s even stolen the spotlight in Cabinet meetings — though, as a special government employee, he is not a formal member of that inner circle.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen somebody with an unofficial role have that much day-to-day influence. He's at the cabinet meetings. He's at diplomatic meetings [and he’s] traveling with the president regularly. I can't think of any historical parallel to that. He got an office there. So I think it's a very unique situation that probably isn't sustainable,” Conant said.

Musk’s special government status has a 130-day limit, and he’s been facing pressure to put more focus on his companies after months of major work with DOGE.

Tesla showrooms and charging stations faced violent protests earlier this year amid anger over DOGE's efforts, and the electric vehicle company’s sales plummeted in the first quarter. An Axios/Harris Poll survey gauging brand reputations, out this week, saw both

© The Hill