Elon Musk is working remotely after being forced to take a step back from his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) amid Tesla’s plummeting profits.

The Tesla billionaire, who has previously called working from home “morally wrong,” has become an increasingly rare presence in Washington, turning his attention to his electric car business as its sales and profits drop.

Susie Wiles, chief of staff to president Donald Trump, told The New York Post that Mr Musk “hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much”.

Ms Wiles reportedly has a tense relationship with the efficiency tsar and denied him a White House office in the early days of the administration, instead installing him in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street.

Once joined at the hip with Mr Trump, Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, has recently distanced himself from the US president tariffs policy and had blazing rows with cabinet members and key advisers.