The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, has announced he will significantly scale back his role in United States President Donald Trump’s administration in May to focus on Tesla.
Musk announced this on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, as the electric vehicle maker reported a 71 per cent drop in first-quarter profits.
“Probably in the next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said at the outset of an earnings conference call, referring to his work for the “Department of Government Efficiency”.
The comments came as Tesla reported profits of $409 million following a drop in auto sales that analysts said reflected brand damage due to Musk’s work for Trump in slashing the United States federal workforce.
Revenues fell 9% to $19.3 billion.
The company retreated from its 2025 guidance, citing unpredictability over trade policy and demand.
Tesla said: “Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers.
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“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term.”
On the positive side, Tesla said it was on track to launch new vehicles “including more affordable models” in the first half of 2025.
Tesla also confirmed in a statement that a planned launch of its Robotaxi for autonomous driving in Texas remained “on track” by June.
Musk reiterated his bullish outlook on the long-term prospects for Tesla, highlighting its leadership in key growth areas – robotics, autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, AFP reported.
Musk donated more than $270 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Analysts have warned of significant brand damage to Tesla from Musk’s leadership role in DOGE, which has granted itself access to government databases with sensitive personal information and implemented thousands of job cuts.
The shakeup to U.S. government operations has led to questions about programs like the Social Security retirement benefit and the continuation of programs like hurricane forecasting and humanitarian aid.
Since Trump returned to the White House, Tesla has been targeted for consumer boycotts and vandalism while sales have dived across many markets and prices of used Teslas have plunged in a sign of the brand’s unpopularity.
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