The outgoing DOGE chief almost made it through the whole news conference without anyone mentioning the bruising on his face. 

A reporter in the Oval Office eventually brought up the matter, though. 

See how Musk responded below... 

While both men seemed pretty insistent the Tesla boss isn't really leaving Washington, the president still presented Musk with a leaving gift. 

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Our US correspondent Mark Stone shares his observations on Musk's farewell.

"There was a sense irony was dead," he says – pointing out how Musk jumped from talking about government spending cuts to praising Trump for adding ornate, gold decorations to the Oval Office.

Addressing the media Q&A, Stone describes the questions Musk and Trump faced as "very soft". 

"This was no news conference," he says. "It's a select group of media who get to go into these."

The Trump administration has made numerous changes to the press pool assigned to report from the White House in recent months.

News agencies including Reuters have been stripped of their permanent positions, while right-wing influencers have been ushered in. 

The final question of the day is whether Trump and Musk are concerned about tariffs potentially impacting Tesla. 

Trump jumps straight in to answer. 

"He's going to end up building his whole car here," he says of Musk. "You build a car, make it in America. 

"I gave them [manufacturers] a little leeway on that... but over the next year, they've got to have the whole thing built in America." 

But before Musk himself has a chance to answer, Trump says the press conference is over. 

Reuters

Turning to various conflicts around the globe, Trump tells reporters that Israel and Hames are "very close to an agreement" for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The president also says an agreement with Iran to stop it from developing nuclear weapons is "very close".

Meanwhile, following recent tensions between India and Pakistan, Trump again takes credit for de-escalating the situation between the two countries.

The Tesla CEO is answering a question about the visible bruising around one of his eyes - and says his five-year-old son X Æ A-12, or X for short, is responsible. 

Musk says: "I was horsing around with my son... I said 'go ahead and punch me in the face', and he did.

"It turns out a five-year-old can punch, actually. I didn't really feel much at the time." 

Meanwhile, Musk appears keen to show off his love for the Department of Government Efficiency at the event. 

Not only is he wearing a DOGE-branded baseball cap, but he also has a T-shirt with "The Dogefather" written on it.

As we've come to expect with Trump, his comments at this Oval Office news conference are certainly wide-ranging.

The US president has just offered his thoughts on Emmanuel Macron's marriage after a video appeared to show the French leader being pushed in the face by his wife.

Asked if he has any marital advice for the couple, Trump says: "Make sure the door remains closed." 

"That was not good," he adds of the video. "I spoke to him and he's fine, they're fine. They're two really good people. 

"I don't know what that was all about… I know them very well and they're fine." 

Musk is reflecting on his time at DOGE, doubling down on his previous claim that the department could help the administration save a trillion dollars.

He says: "We do expect over time the trillion dollars in savings. Say by the middle of next year, with presidential support, we can do it."

One of the issues he's faced, Musk says, is that DOGE has been blamed for cuts that had nothing to do with his department.

"What we found was happening was if there were any cuts anywhere, people would assume that was done by DOGE," he explains. "We essentially became the 'DOGE' boogie man."

Another reporter wins a laugh for their question: what's harder – colonising Mars or cutting government spending? The first option, Musk says. 

During his farewell remarks, the US president presents Musk with a ceremonial golden key to the White House to thank him for his work.

We're now into the Q&A section of the news conference and Musk is kicking things off by making a dig at The New York Times.

A reporter is trying to ask about the "slings and arrows" Musk has faced in his government role, to which he replies: "Some of the media organisations in this room are the slingers."

When the reporter references a recent report in the paper, Musk makes a claim about the NYT being told to give back a Pulitzer Prize. 

Or is it? 

Musk also suggests he will continue to have influence over the White House. 

He says: "This is not the end of DOGE, this is really the beginning.

"The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. I'm confident over time we will see a trillion dollars of waste and fraud reduction. 

"I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job, they're going to continue doing an incredible job and I'll continue visiting her and being a friend and adviser to the president." 

Trump has given Musk a leaving gift though - a gold White House key in an embossed box. 

The US president is reading out a list of savings DOGE has allegedly made.

He claims these include cutting: 

• $101m spent on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies in the Department of Education
• $59m on hotel rooms for migrants in New York
• $42 on a project for social and behavioural change in Uganda
• £24m "for an Arab Sesame Street"
• $8m "for making mice transgender". 

It is not the first time Trump has made such claims, which have been disputed.

The controversial "transgender mice" claim is thought to refer, in part, to a scientific study – which received US government funding – using mice which looked into how estrogen and anti-testosterone therapy affected immune responses to a HIV vaccine.

Despite today's news conference being billed as a farewell to the Tesla boss, Trump appears to be suggesting he's not going anywhere.

He says: "Elon's really not leaving, he's going to be back and forth. It's his baby, he's going to be doing lots of things." 

  Trump is now heaping praise on Musk, who is standing next to him and nodding along.

He's praising him as "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced", commending him for "stepping forward to put his talents into our nation".

"We appreciate it," Trump says, declaring the work of DOGE as "the most sweeping and consequential government reform" seen in recent years. 

Trump is opening Musk's farewell by playing a clip featuring CNBC editor Rick Santelli praising his administration for cutting the trade deficit in the past month. 

The president then begins his opening remarks, praising Musk for working "tirelessly" during his time in the administration. 

 For what could be the last time, Musk is at Trump's side in the Oval Office for his big farewell. 

The US president is sitting at his desk as he addresses reporters – while the tech billionaire stands next to him and listens.

You can follow our text updates live and watch the news conference in the stream above. 

While we wait for the event to begin, Donald Trump has announced he is sacking the boss of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social platform at 6.30pm UK time – the exact time when his news conference with Musk was scheduled to begin.

The president wrote: "Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as director of the National Portrait Gallery. 

"She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Trump's mention of "DEI" refers to "diversity, equity and inclusion" policies, which have come under fire from the president and his supporters. 

Today's Oval Office event was scheduled to begin at 1.30pm local time (6.30pm here in the UK). 

However, it appears the news conference is running late. We'll keep you updated on when it gets under way.  

Trump pitched the Department of Government Efficiency – or DOGE – while he was campaigning in the run-up to last November's US election.

He then wasted no time in creating the department, signing an executive order to launch it on the day of his inauguration.

Designed to slash government spending, DOGE had ambitious targets. Musk initially claimed he could save the administration $2trn (£1.5trn) - but the target was later reduced to $150bn (£111bn).

In a bid to deliver quick wins, DOGE took aim at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – essentially shutting down most foreign assistance.

The move prompted fierce criticism and led to a judge ruling Trump had overstepped his authority.