Cliff Notes – Elon Musk says his time working for Trump will drop significantly next month
- Elon Musk plans to reduce his time in Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to focus more on Tesla, amidst a 71% drop in the company’s first-quarter profits and ongoing sales challenges influenced by tariffs.
- Protests have arisen against Tesla due to the government’s spending cuts under Musk’s role at DOGE, with President Trump condemning the vandals as “terrorists.”
- Concerns over Musk’s focus on Tesla and looming tariff impacts are raising doubts among shareholders, along with a significant drop in Tesla’s share price by over 50% since December.
Elon Musk says his time working for Donald Trump’s administration will ‘drop significantly’ next month – as Tesla profits drop 71%
Elon Musk has said the time he spends with Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will “drop significantly” from May and he will allocate more time to Tesla.
It comes after first-quarter profits at Tesla sank as the company grapples with falling sales, partly due to President Trump’s tariffs.
As a special government employee, Mr Musk was limited to 130 days in his role at DOGE, which is primarily aimed at slashing federal spending.
In April, he dismissed reports suggesting he would leave his role in the coming months, calling the rumours “fake news”, something he has learnt from Donald Trump.
But the cuts, which included axing government jobs, have divided the country and prompted a backlash against his company, including protests and attacks on Tesla showrooms. Donald Trump labelled the vandals “terrorists”.
Additional sources
Elon Musk says his time working for Donald Trump’s administration will ‘drop significantly’ next month – as Tesla profits sink – Yahoo News UK
Musk signals ‘significantly’ stepping back from Doge as Tesla profits plunge – BBC
Trump updates: Elon Musk says he will spend less time at DOGE – Al Jazeera