The rise of Elon Musk as President Donald Trump's all-powerful running mate is as fast and unstoppable as one of his SpaceX rockets. But reports on April 1 are fueling speculation that the billionaire's political career may be returning to Earth.

"Politico and ABC News cited unnamed sources as saying Musk may be stepping down from the unprecedented role in which he has spearheaded brutal cuts to US government services and emerged as only second to Trump as the face of the administration.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt called the Politico report "garbage." 

Another spokesman, Harrison Fields, said Politico is "a tabloid newspaper that would rather run fake news for clicks than real reporting."

From day one, however, there was speculation about how long Musk could maintain the exclusive position that brought him so close to Trump that critics called him "co-president."

For two months, the world's richest man oversaw an ideologically motivated crusade by the so-called Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE. While DOGE is ostensibly intended to save money, Musk caused widespread alarm by crippling U.S. foreign aid and research programs almost overnight.

And his prominence in the White House has reportedly created friction in Trump's inner circle.

Not only has the South African-born tech mogul been given a leading voice at a widely publicized Cabinet meeting - despite having no official position in it - but he regularly appears with Trump in the Oval Office and flies with the president on weekends to his Florida golf resort.

This week, Trump hinted at a gradual separation, saying that "at some point, Ilon will want to come back to his company."

"He wants to do that. I would keep him as long as I could keep him," Trump added.

Reports of tensions in the White House have been gradually mounting, as have questions about how long Trump - known for not liking to share the spotlight - could tolerate such a big personality.

But Trump officials may want to give the Tesla, SpaceX and X tycoon a bigger boost after his spectacular failure in trying to tilt an important election in America's heartland.

The race to fill Wisconsin's Supreme Court vacancy quickly went national after Trump and especially Musk threw themselves behind conservative candidate Brad Schimel.

Repeating his successful tactic for Trump's 2024 campaign, Musk gave money to voters to draw public attention to Schimel. In all, he poured about $20 million into the Wisconsin race and campaigned in the state over the weekend.

Yet it was all for naught: favored Democratic candidate Susan Crawford won easily.

There was more bad news for Musk when his beloved Tesla reported a 13% drop in first-quarter global results - a decline that follows steadily falling share prices for the once-stellar brand.

There is a purely bureaucratic reason why Musk may have to leave the White House and his role at DOGE -- his current legal status as a "special government employee" theoretically expires in early June.

But analysts say the entrepreneur's political future could be decided on another level.

Andrew Konesky, a political communications expert and former press secretary for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, called the Wisconsin vote a "referendum" on Musk.

"Watch closely to see if vulnerable Republicans begin to distance themselves from him in the coming weeks and months," he said. | BGNES

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AFP Analysis.