After 130 days spent fighting the federal government, Elon Musk turned up with a black eye at the White House on Friday for his last day as a “special government employee.” If you squinted, you could see it: His right eye socket was puffy and empurpled. No doubt about it, that was a big, fat shiner.

Musk said he had "done enough" and that he will step away from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the inner-government group that has slashed federal budgets and workforces. As he prepared his goodbyes, Newsweek looked back at Musk's time in government and asked experts on whether he will have a lasting impact.

According to an investigation by The New York Times, Elon Musk significantly increased his use of psychoactive substances during the election campaign in which he

Katie Miller played a key role in DOGE and was seen as a major force behind Musk’s political messaging and media presence.

DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he told the Washington Post. “So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do

Screenshot via XElon Musk pivoted to damage control in his final days as a "special government employee," publicly recommitting to Mars, cars and robots after a bruising year in the political limelight.