到2025年5月离开白宫时，马斯克作为「政府效率部」的预算沙皇被普遍视为失败；他本人也承认仅「有点成功」，并表示若早知后果就不会再做。其后与特朗普公开互呛、以政府合约相互威胁，连带导致一名盟友的NASA提名被撤回，社会层面还出现全国性抗议。

但财富走势相反：按彭博亿万富豪指数，马斯克2025年净资产约增加45%，至约6300亿美元；仅2025年就增加约1940亿美元。到12月29日，他的身家已超过第二名（拉里·佩奇）的2倍；这个增量几乎相当于再「加上一个」身家约2050亿美元的伯纳德·阿尔诺。

更大的推力来自AI热潮与估值溢价：特斯拉汽车销售低迷、且因车门安全受调查，但投资者押注机器人计程车与人形机器人；马斯克曾承诺在新年前夕让机器人计程车覆盖全美一半，但目前仅在奥斯汀与湾区营运且仍由安全员监督。xAI估值跳升至约2000亿美元，SpaceX最新估值约8000亿美元；特斯拉股东11月批准、最高或达1兆美元的薪酬方案加剧「高风险/高杠杆」结构，令2026年在AI泡沫与政治变数下更可能剧烈波动。

By May 2025, Elon Musk’s White House stint as the “Department of Government Efficiency” budget cutter was widely judged a failure; he later said he was only “a little bit successful” and wouldn’t do it again. The exit was messy: nationwide protests, a public feud with President Trump, threats over federal business, and the cancellation of a NASA nomination tied to a Musk ally.

Yet his wealth trend ran the other way. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index shows Musk’s net worth rose about 45% in 2025 to roughly $630B—an increase of about $194B. As of Dec. 29, he was more than 2× richer than runner-up Larry Page, effectively adding nearly another Bernard Arnault (about $205B) to his balance sheet in a single year.

The bigger driver is AI-linked exuberance and valuation re-rating. Tesla’s auto sales are weak and it faces a safety probe, but investors focus on robotaxis and humanoid robots; Musk promised robotaxis would cover half the U.S. by New Year’s Eve, yet operations are limited to Austin and the Bay Area with human safety drivers. xAI reportedly jumped to a ~$200B valuation and SpaceX to ~$800B, while Tesla shareholders approved a November pay package that could reach $1T—raising the stakes if AI hype fades or politics in 2026 turns hostile.