The days of DOGE may not be ending, but the Department of Government Efficiency is soon to lose its leader, champion and public face as Elon Musk prepares to return to focusing on his many businesses.

The world’s richest man is not only leaving government service but also pulling back from politics in general. But why?

Musk’s status as a “special government employee” always came with an expiration date, as these are only allowed to hold positions for up to 130 days. But Elon could still remain an unofficial advisor to President Trump and pretty much anyone else in government if he wanted to.

He doesn’t appear to want to. And there could be a very simple explanation.

People have interpreted this to mean either he is sick of the attacks and death threats directed toward him by Democrats — probably more than against any other person in the country — or that he had a falling out with Trump. But I don’t think it’s either of these. It is just my opinion, but I think Musk has run up against the frustrating difference between what he is used to in the private sector and how government operates.

In the first Trump administration, I noticed that Trump was often trying to act like he had acted in the business world — like anyone would in the business world. He genuinely seemed like he believed Democrats would work with him to get things done for the betterment of the country. In business, the interested parties sit down and try to compromise. If they both agree that they’ve gotten enough to satisfy themselves or their stockholders, a deal is struck and papers are signed. This is a basic description, but clear enough.

In politics, Trump seemed to think he could sit down with Democrats and hash out deals in similar fashion, where both sides got something they wanted. Neither side would get everything, and all living to battle on another day for the rest. He didn’t seem to realize that, unlike in business, in politics the “other side” is often willing to walk away with nothing, even if offered 99 percent of what they want, in order to deny the other side anything that could be construed as a victory.

It’s wildly self-destructive and counterintuitive, but it’s also very real.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) relearned this lesson when he was one a handful of Democrats who voted to avoid a government shutdown last month. All the did was vote to avoid what his own party was describing as a dangerous “threat to democracy.” He has been attacked relentlessly for it ever since. He couldn’t do a media interview, even with friendly left-wing outlets, without being asked if he should step down over that vote.

Before entering government, Musk lived in a world where his decisions were simply implemented without question. He owned the companies, after all, and what the boss says goes. In government, he and his team uncovered all manner of waste, fraud and abuse. There was little outrage, a lot of denial, and no real action taken from it.

None of the things uncovered by DOGE were included by House Republican leadership in the “Big, Beautiful Bill” now sitting in the Senate, which means all that waste can easily return under a new administration or a future Congress with minimal effort.

All of the work DOGE has done will have been for nothing. That cannot sit well with a driven entrepreneur who is used plowing forward with his vision, regardless of the obstacles in his way.

Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk portrays him as a risk-taker uninterested in the possible and bored with the probable. He thrives on challenges and, most importantly, on achieving those “impossible” goals. In government, however, he may have met his match.

Musk gets along with Trump so well because they have a similar private sector mindset; but where Trump thrives on the fight, Musk thrives on results. And results can’t be achieved for anything more than a fleeting moment in government.

Have you noticed how Musk has given a lot of interviews to Fox News, but few if any to other outlets? All those other outlets talked about him, a lot, but not to him. They lied about him, defamed him, accused him of somehow doing all of this to make himself richer. They called him a Nazi, a white supremacist, a supporter of apartheid, and all manner of monster.

His real “sin” was that he ceased being a Democrat. For that, the left-wing media-industrial complex remained silent as his life was repeatedly threatened. All of his work was ignored by the Republican politicians when they had the chance to at least enact some of it.

Is it any wonder, then, he’s had enough and going back to a place where innovation and efficiency are appreciated, and where he can actually accomplish great things?

Derek Hunter is host of the Derek Hunter Podcast and a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.).