During a recent CBS Sunday Morning interview, Elon Musk steered away from political commentary, preferring to talk spaceships rather than U.S. policy.
When CBS reporter David Pogue asked Musk about his alignment with Donald Trump and policies such as restricting international students, the SpaceX CEO quickly deflected.
“I think we want to stick to the subject of the day, which is, like, spaceships,” Musk said.
Pogue, clearly taken aback, responded, “Oh, okay, I was told, ‘Anything’s good.’”
Musk replied with a short, “No … well, no,” avoiding further discussion on political topics.
However, Musk did touch on criticism surrounding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a federal initiative he leads, which has faced backlash for implementing drastic agency cuts. “If there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE,” Musk remarked, calling the agency a “whipping boy.”
Caught between loyalty and criticism, Musk admitted feeling conflicted about the Trump administration, saying, “I don’t want to speak out against the administration, but I also don’t want to take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing.”
This interview took place just before SpaceX’s Starship test flight, which launched successfully but lost control during reentry.
When asked about what unites his companies—SpaceX, Tesla, xAI, X (formerly Twitter), Neuralink, and The Boring Company—Musk offered a broad philosophy: “I guess you could think of the businesses as things that improve the probable trajectory of civilization.”
At the time, Musk was reportedly scaling back his government involvement, planning to dedicate just a “day or two” per week. Still, he insisted that DOGE would continue “as a way of life,” with him playing a limited role.
Interestingly, a post-interview clip showing Musk criticizing a Trump-backed budget bill went viral, triggering another wave of media coverage. Shortly after, Musk announced he was stepping down as a special government employee, though Trump countered that Musk is “not really leaving.”
