Tech billionaire tells David Pogue to ‘stick to spaceships’ and refuses to discuss tariffs or foreign student ban during awkward CBS interview
Elon Musk engaged in an awkward clash with CBS reporter David Pogue, telling him to “stick to spaceships” when pressed about President Trump’s controversial policies during a pre-taped interview that aired Sunday.
The Tesla CEO, who had just announced his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), grew visibly uncomfortable and shut down questions about tariffs and foreign student bans in the tense exchange.
When Pogue noted that Musk’s businesses rely on “a lot of components, a lot of parts” and asked if Trump’s tariffs affected them, the billionaire shrugged his shoulders and replied dismissively: “Ugh, you know, tariffs always affect things a little bit.”
But the real tension came when the CBS correspondent pressed further about Trump’s proposed ban on foreign students.
“Wondering what your thought is on the ban on foreign students — the proposal. I mean, you were one of those kids, right?” Pogue asked, referring to Musk’s own background as a foreign student from South Africa.
‘Stick to spaceships’
After a long, uncomfortable pause, Musk shut down the entire line of questioning.
“Yeah, I mean, I think we want to stick to, you know, the subject of the day — which is, like spaceships, as opposed to presidential policy,” Musk said firmly.
When Pogue responded “Oh, okay, I was told anything is good, but…” Musk had clearly drawn a line in the sand about what he would and wouldn’t discuss.
Bombshell criticism emerges
Despite initially refusing to engage on Trump policies, Musk eventually opened up about his disappointment with the president’s signature legislative package – comments that would prove explosive.
I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly,” Musk told CBS, referring to Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that passed the House last week.
The legislation “increases the budget deficit, doesn’t decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” he added.
In a particularly pointed critique, Musk declared: “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
Fallout was swift
CBS released the clip of Musk’s criticism on Tuesday to promote the Sunday interview – and the fallout was immediate.
The comments “went all the way to the White House,” according to CBS, where Trump was directly asked about Musk’s criticism.
Within 24 hours of the preview airing, Musk announced his departure from the Trump administration, claiming his 130-day stint as a special government employee was ending – though he had previously said he would continue working with DOGE part-time.
‘Stuck in a bind’
In other portions of the interview, Musk revealed the difficult position he found himself in within the Trump administration.
“I don’t want to speak up against the administration but I also don’t want to take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing,” he admitted.
The tech mogul said he has “differences of opinion” with Trump and doesn’t “entirely agree” with some of the administration’s actions, but felt “a little stuck in a bind” about speaking out publicly.
DOGE ‘became the whipping boy’
Reflecting on his tumultuous time leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk complained about unfair treatment.
“DOGE became the whipping boy for everything,” he said. “If there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE.”
The billionaire addressed concerns that cuts affected vital services: “I’ve had some people think that DOGE is somehow going to stop them getting the social security check, which is completely untrue.”
During his four-month tenure, DOGE eliminated 250,000 federal jobs and slashed funding across multiple agencies – though Musk’s ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion in spending was dramatically reduced to just $150 billion.
Black eye and bruised ego
The interview took place at SpaceX facilities, where Musk sported a visible black eye he claimed came from his 5-year-old son – though CBS noted he “might be the first to admit that his DOGE experiment gave him a black eye” metaphorically as well.
CBS correspondent David Pogue later described the encounter as “very surreal,” noting he was the only non-space journalist invited to the interview ahead of a SpaceX rocket test.
Musk initially said ‘we’re going to stick to talking about spaceships’ before he began discussing the Trump administration,” Pogue revealed.
The cooling relationship
The tense interview and subsequent rapid departure from the administration highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Trump and his former “first buddy.
While Trump used to post about Musk “about six times a week,” the frequency had dropped dramatically in recent weeks as tensions grew over policy disagreements.
Trump, speaking from the Oval Office after Musk’s departure, tried to downplay the split: “This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific!”
But the awkward CBS interview and Musk’s refusal to defend Trump policies painted a different picture – of a billionaire who had grown increasingly uncomfortable with his role in an administration whose policies he couldn’t fully support.
As Musk returns to focusing on Tesla, SpaceX, and his other ventures, the clash with CBS revealed the deep tensions that ultimately led to his exit from Trump’s inner circle – and his determination to distance himself from policies he once championed as part of the MAGA movement.
