Washington: Elon Musk appeared at the White House on Friday with a visible black eye, prompting questions from reporters during an event marking the end of his short but impactful role in President Donald Trump’s administration. The Tesla CEO, known for his offbeat sense of humor, explained that the bruise was the result of playful roughhousing with his 5-year-old son.
During the Oval Office ceremony, Musk addressed the injury directly:
“And I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did,” Musk told reporters, referring to his son, X.
President Trump, standing beside Musk, chimed in with a laugh:
“That was X that did that? …X could do it. If you knew X.”
Initially brushing off questions about the black eye, Musk quipped, “I wasn’t anywhere near France,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to a recent viral incident involving French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife.
According to Musk, the impact didn’t hurt at the time but left a bruise that became noticeable later.
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The event in the Oval Office marked Musk’s official departure from his government post as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His brief 130-day tenure was characterized by aggressive budget-slashing efforts that disrupted long-standing federal programs and eliminated tens of thousands of jobs. While the initiative did not deliver the multi-trillion-dollar savings Musk had envisioned, it left a lasting impact on federal operations.
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Musk’s farewell comes amid growing tension between his corporate responsibilities and political involvement, with protests at Tesla locations and investor concerns over his high-profile alliance with the Trump administration. Despite this, Musk has pledged to remain close to Trump in an advisory capacity.
