President Donald Trump has reportedly informed his Cabinet and inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping back from his high-profile government role in the coming weeks.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss will soon be returning to the business world, Politico reported.

Revelations about the shock move rattled the stock market and stunned Washington.

Musk's designation as a special government employee meant he was scheduled to step down in May, but he is now leaving early in a cloud of controversy. 

It represents an apparent sea change in Trump's relationship with Musk from last month when White House sources were suggesting that the Tesla boss was 'here to stay.'

Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt immediately poured cold water on claims of a rift, declaring that Politico's 'scoop is garbage.'

Leavitt added: 'Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.' 

Musk echoed her, retweeting her post and adding his own commentary: 'Yeah, fake news.' 

Within the White House, Musk has become a controversial figure due to his slash and burn style of cutting down the federal government.

He also just sank $20 million into Wisconsin's Supreme Court race only to have his Republican candidate lose. 

And stock in Tesla has dropped sharply with sales down and its car lots being set on fire. 

But the report Musk is going back to his business roots sent the company's shares rocketing again. 

Trump empowered him to bring that power and success to the federal government.

The decision caused immediate controversy leading to questions as to whether Musk, whose Space X company has billions in government contracts, had a conflict of interest. 

Additionally, Musk's work to cut the size of the federal government has resulted in mass firings and lawsuits against the Trump administration. 

He's also proven unpredictability.

In all, Musk began to be seen as a political liability. The Democratic candidate in Wisconsin won, in part, by shaping the race as 'The People vs. Elon Musk.'