Elon Musk is stepping back from his role leading DOGE. But he says that this doesn’t mean the Department of Government Efficiency is done with its work.

“DOGE is a way of life. Like Buddhism,” Musk told reporters Wednesday. “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?”

His remarks, reported by The New York Times, Axios, and others, came during an interview with multiple news outlets. And they came hours before a report that Tesla (TSLA) had reached out to several executive search firms about a month ago to inquire about finding a new CEO. Tesla denied that report.

Musk said last week that he would take a big step back from his work leading DOGE, cheering Tesla investors who have worried he is distracted and sending the stock up despite a brutal quarterly earnings report.

He is no longer working from the White House, where he spent much of the Trump administration’s first 100 days indiscriminately laying off federal workers and cutting programs without producing his much-promised savings.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Musk suggested that DOGE, which was supposed to wind down in 2026, may continue its work through Trump’s term.

“It’s up to the president,” Musk said.

And he sounded a somber note about whether DOGE would hit its goal of cutting $1 trillion in government spending. The group remains far, far off that mark, which was already pared down from a $2 trillion goal during Trump’s presidential campaign. He said DOGE has cut $160 billion in federal spending, but as reporting from multiple news outlets has made clear,even that figure is significantly inflated.

“I think it’s possible to do that,” Musk said of cutting $1 trillion. “But it’s a long road to go, and, you know, it’s really difficult. It’s sort of, how much pain is, you know, are the cabinet and is Congress willing to take? Because it can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.”

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