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Tech billionaire Elon Musk has revealed the date he plans to 'ditch US President Donald Trump' and leave Washington DC after his DOGE purge of Federal departments. The Tesla CEO sat down with key members of his DOGE team to discuss the work his team has carried out for the first few months of Trump's administration. Elon Musk plans to step down from his cost-cutting role in the Trump administration at the end of May after reducing the US deficit by $1 trillion, the tech billionaire said on Thursday, according to The Fox News. Musk, 54, expressed confidence in getting close to that goal, which would halve the annual federal deficit, in just 130 days — saying his team was averaging “$4 billion a day, every day, seven days a week.”ALSO READ: Myanmar earthquake: Emergency declared in Bangkok; Thailand's stock exchange suspends tradingMusk says 'he's done with cost-cutting'In an interview with Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier", Elon Musk said that he was confident his DOGE could find $1 trillion in savings, slimming current total federal spending levels of about $7 trillion down to $6 trillion. Musk, who is also the world's richest man, was designated by the White House as a "special government employee," which caps his work at 130 days. That means his period leading the DOGE operation could finish as soon as the end of May."I think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame," Musk said when asked by Baier about his tenure and how quickly he expected to achieve his cost-cutting target."The government is not efficient, and there is a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services," Musk said.ALSO READ: 'I haven't seen anybody...': Trump's hilarious exchange with reporter at Oval Office. Watch videoDOGE estimates it has saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24 through actions including workforce reductions, asset sales and contract cancellations. “America will be solvent,” the DOGE chief declared. “The critical programs that people depend upon will work, and it’s going to be a fantastic future. And are we going to get a lot of complaints along the way? Absolutely.”“I think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within [130 days],” Musk told Baier. “Our goal is to reduce the waste and fraud by $4 billion a day, every day, seven days a week. And so far, we are succeeding.” “Unless this exercise is successful, the ship of America will sink,” Musk told Baier. “That’s why we’re doing it.”Musk's remark amid Tesla protestsThe remarks by Elon Musk comes at a time amid nationwide protests Tesla and as well as numerous lawsuits that claim DOGE acted without legal authority and violated privacy laws. Musk has defended his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), pushing back on mounting criticism of the massive disruption caused by DOGE in an unusual joint interview with other top leaders of the group.ALSO READ: World War III soon? European Union tells 450 million people to stockpile food, supplies amid riskThe CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X has blazed through federal agencies since late January, overseeing the mass-firing of staffers and dramatically reducing agency spending, including all but shuttering the 10,000-person USAID and the 1,700-person Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Musk's role in slashing the federal workforce and government agency budgets has drawn political backlash in recent weeks, with Tesla cars and dealerships hit by a spate of vandalism and demonstrations across the country.Elon Musk downplayed the number of employees dismissed by DOGE during a surge in federal layoffs. His team criticized the government's record-keeping, payment systems, and other infrastructure, vowing to introduce a more tech-savvy and user-friendly approach. They also dismissed concerns regarding DOGE's operations.(With inputs from Reuters)

Shares of Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd (SMIL) advanced 3.8% to their intraday high of Rs 137 on the BSE after the company stated that the recently announced US tariffs on imported products, including automotive components, are not expected to materially impact its financials at present.In a regulatory filing on Thursday, SMIL informed exchanges that a significant portion of its products supplied to U.S. customers are either manufactured domestically within the U.S. or are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Based on this, the company has assessed that the Executive Orders issued by the U.S. government imposing tariffs are unlikely to have a significant financial effect.“The U.S. Government via Executive Orders announced tariffs on imported products from various countries globally, including automotive components, which may be subject to modifications from time to time. A significant part of the products supplied by the Company and/or its subsidiaries to its various customers in the U.S are either manufactured in the U.S. or are United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) compliant and therefore as per our present assessment the said Executive Orders may not have any material impact on the financials of the Company,” the company said in an exchange filing.However, the company cautioned that the actual impact going forward would depend on the scope and details of the executive irders, including any changes to inclusions or exclusions of products, tariffs, and territories.Also read: Project pipeline, rentals keep DLF on Street radarOn Thursday, the shares of SMIL fell sharply, triggered by the impact of US tariffs on the company. However, the stock managed to reverse its early losses, following a favourable view for CLSA, which expects its shares to potentially double over the next three years.The shares of SMIL closed 2.22% lower at Rs 132 on the BSE on Thursday.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with global CEOs in Beijing on Friday, Xinhua reported, without providing any details. The meeting followed last weekend's China Development Forum (CDF), a flagship business event that this year saw Premier Li Qiang urge countries to open their markets and combat "rising instability and uncertainty". China's leader has taken it upon himself in recent months to reassure and energise businesses both foreign and domestic. Last month Xi held a rare pro-business meeting with some of the biggest names in China's technology sector, including Alibaba's Jack Ma, urging the entrepreneurs to "show their talent" and be confident in the power of China's model and market. Friday's gathering also followed a similar meeting last year, which saw the first meeting between Xi and foreign business leaders after the annual business forum, an assignment previously delegated to the Premier, the top leader's second in command. An all-American contingent of 18, including Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, and Harvard Professor Graham Allison, had a 90-minute audience with Xi in March last year. (Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Saad Sayeed)