A 'fake news' behind why Musk is pulling out of Trump 2.0: Report

Famous Conservative commentator and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon revealed the real reason behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk's exit from US President Donald Trump’s administration. Bannon said that fake news led to the fallout between Trump and Musk.

In the interview published by The Atlantic on Wednesday, Bannon said that “everything changed” for the billionaire after Trump dismissed a New York Times report that claimed that Musk would receive a briefing on China during his visit to the Pentagon. The remarks from the conservative strategist came after Musk stepped back from his high-profile role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

The Atlantic report also delved into how Musk had disagreements with some of the top officials in Trump’s second administration. In his interview, Bannon emphasised that the NYT saga was the turning point for the Tesla CEO within Trump 2.0. “You could feel it. Everything changed. The fever had been broken,” Bannon told the American magazine, emphasising the concerns raised about the scope of influence Musk had within the federal government.

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What was the report about?

In March this year, The New York Times published a report in which it stated that Musk was set to be briefed by the Pentagon. One of the key aspects of the briefing was reported to be the details regarding any prospective war between the US and China. The report soon stirred a storm in Congress, with the Democratic lawmakers opposing the plans and raising ethical and national security concerns with Musk’s involvement.

Trump eventually issued a clarification on the matter on his TruthSocial platform and described the NYT article as “fake news.” “They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China,’” Trump said at the time. “How ridiculous? China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” he added.

Given the wide area of influence Musk enjoyed as the head of DOGE, the idea of Musk being present during such sensitive talks rang alarm bells among critics over his power. The ‘first buddy’ and his team had already made several dramatic cuts at federal departments and agencies and were already being scrutinised for their access to the social security information of Americans.

In recent weeks, Musk has spoken about his plans to shift his focus towards his companies, i.e. Tesla, SpaceX & X. The South African-born billionaire had also mentioned that he would cut back on his political donations soon.

However, despite all these speculations, Musk still appears to remain close to Trump. The billionaire accompanied Trump during the POTUS's visit to the Middle East. On Wednesday, he also sat alongside Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as the two world leaders met in the Oval Office.

In a separate statement to the Business Insider, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, made it clear that DOGE’s mission “will surely continue,” despite Musk’s exit. “DOGE employees who are onboarded at their respective agencies will continue to work with President Trump’s cabinet to make our government more efficient,” she said.