Elon Musk surprised reporters at the White House on Friday when he appeared at an Oval Office event with a noticeable black eye, marking the conclusion of his 130-day stint in the Trump administration.
“I’ve got a little shiner here,” said the 53-year-old after President Trump fielded a question from Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about “the first lady of France slapping her husband, Emmanuel Macron.”
“I wasn’t anywhere near France,” Musk joked. “I was just horsing around with Little X, and I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face,’ and he did.”

“Turns out even a five-year-old punching you in the face … ” he started to say, before cutting himself off.
The bruise had actually been visible a day earlier in images from a separate event where Musk gave a talk about SpaceX’s ambitious mission to reach Mars.
When asked whether creating a functioning Mars colony or streamlining the U.S. government would be more challenging, Musk responded, “It’s a tough call, but I think colonizing Mars and making life multiplanetary is harder,” adding, “We do expect to achieve, over time, the trillion-dollar savings.”
As head of the Department of Government Efficiency, known by the acronym DOGE, Musk had set a bold target of reducing federal expenditures by $2 trillion by the time Trump assumed office.
For about four months, DOGE employees had collaborated with various departments across the federal government to slash grants, cancel contracts, and eliminate certain funding channels.
However, by the time Musk stepped down on Wednesday, DOGE’s own website only showed $175 billion in confirmed cuts — translating to about $1,087 in savings per U.S. taxpayer.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) commented Wednesday that these reductions would be factored into this year’s congressional spending bills, alongside $1.5 trillion in additional savings tied to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Photos from Thursday’s Mars presentation also showed Musk with the same visible bruise while he discussed SpaceX’s vision for building a sustainable human presence beyond Earth.
At his farewell event Friday, Musk wore a black “Dogefather” shirt and a cap emblazoned with “DOGE,” though his demeanor was more subdued than usual.
Speculation swirled online about the injury. Users on X raised questions about the tech billionaire’s appearance.
“What happened to Elon, appears he has a black eye on his right,” one post wondered.
“Yoo did Elon Musk get straight up punched in the face? That’s a left hook black eye if I’ve ever seen one. Might explain his delayed talk?” another user wrote.
During the event, President Trump presented Musk with a ceremonial key to the White House, similar to the one he had previously given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking to reporters, Musk clarified that this wasn’t the end for DOGE. “Not the end of DOGE, only the beginning,” he declared, promising, “the DOGE team will only grow stronger over time.”
“He’s going to be back and forth,” Trump said. “I’ve got a feeling.”
{Matzav.com}