Washington DC - Elon Musk was noticeably absent from the Rose Garden ceremony as President Donald Trump gave his "Liberation Day" speech on Wednesday, hours after rumors of a split surfaced.

The far-right billionaire put in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was the center of a Politico report that claimed he may imminently step away from his role in the Trump administration.

While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had dismissed the rumors as "garbage," Musk was nowhere to be seen as Trump staged one of the biggest events of his second administration so-far.

Trump called it a day that would "forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn," while facing a crowd that included his closest advisers and cabinet members, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Among the tariffs he unleashed on the entire world are levies that will almost certainly affect the bottom line of Tesla, where Musk is CEO.

Musk, meanwhile, was out of sight, but not out of mind, seemingly just doomscrolling and reposting conservative commentators on X.

His absence comes after a devastating loss for Musk and the Republicans in Wisconsin, and has served to further fuel rumors that he will soon step away from DOGE and Trump.