Elon Musk appeared in the Oval Office on Friday to formally conclude his role in the Trump administration, but it wasn’t just his work with DOGE that drew attention. It was the noticeable black mark under his right eye.
During the livestreamed event, sharp-eyed viewers quickly took to social media after spotting what looked like a fresh bruise, fueling speculation ranging from a gym injury to a behind-the-scenes political confrontation.
The assembled press couldn’t resist asking the obvious: “What happened to your eye?” Musk said, “Well, I wasn’t anywhere near France,” poking fun at headlines regarding French President Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera being shoved by his wife last week. “I didn’t know the first lady of France isn’t a lieutenant.”
But then he fessed up: “No, I just was horsing around with little X,” Musk said, referring to his five-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii. “And I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did. Turns out even a 5-year-old punching you in the face… actually does this.”
President Trump, seated at the Resolute Desk, then broke in: “That was X that did that?” After Musk responded in the affirmative, the president added with a smile: “X could do it, if you knew X.”
The moment, caught on camera during Musk’s Oval Office farewell, quickly became the highlight of the day—a lighthearted break during the otherwise formal sendoff marking the end of his 130-day tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “This is not the end of DOGE,” he told reporters. “Only the beginning.”
According to a May 26 update on DOGE’s official website, the department achieved over $175 billion in savings during Musk’s tenure, primarily through asset sales, canceled contracts, and anti-fraud efforts. The savings amount to an estimated $1,087 per taxpayer.
But Musk also assured reporters that DOGE’s work was only beginning and that eventually the team would be able to save taxpayers the promised $1 trillion a year.
