Elon Musk sports black eye at farewell presser in Oval Office: ‘Horsing around with little X’

Elon Musk showed up to the Oval Office on Friday to bid farewell to his official role in the Trump administration, but it wasn’t just the mark he made with DOGE that raised eyebrows.

It was the black one under his right eye. 

Social media lit up during the livestreamed event as eagle-eyed viewers noticed what appeared to be a fresh bruise under Musk’s eye, prompting speculation about everything from a gym mishap to a political dust-up. 

The assembled press couldn’t resist asking the obvious: “What happened to your eye?”

DOGE STAFFING SHAKEUP AS ELON MUSK HANGS UP HIS HAT, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“Well, I wasn’t anywhere near France,” Musk quipped, poking fun at headlines regarding French President Emmanuel Macron, who was caught on camera being shoved by his wife last week. “I didn’t know the first lady of France isn’t a lieutenant.”

Then came the real story.

“No, I just was horsing around with little X,” Musk said, referring to his five-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii. “And I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did. Turns out even a 5-year-old punching you in the face… actually does this.”

President Donald Trump jumped in immediately. “That was X that did that?”

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President Donald Trump, right, and Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Yeah,” Musk replied.

“X could do it, if you knew X,” Trump said with a grin.

The whole exchange, captured during Musk’s Oval Office farewell event, quickly became the moment of the day, a lighthearted pause in a sendoff marking the end of Musk’s 130-day stint as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Musk didn’t let the black eye distract from his message.

“This is not the end of DOGE,” he told reporters. “Only the beginning.”

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According to a May 26 update on DOGE’s official site, the department racked up over $175 billion in savings during Musk’s tenure, mostly through asset sales, canceled contracts, and cracking down on fraud. That translates to an estimated $1,087 saved per taxpayer.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.