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Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday that he will begin dedicating more time to Tesla starting next month, working less with the Trump administration, providing Tesla investors with political work and showing potential changes in power in the White House.
Musk’s comments came to Tesla’s appeal with investors after reporting a significant decline in first quarter profits and revenues. The company warned that the political environment, along with the Trump administration’s tariff plans, is a challenge to its business.
“From next month, maybe next year, my time obligation to Doge will be significantly reduced,” Musk said, referring to his government efficiency department.
“I think I’ll be spending a day or two a week on government issues as long as the President wants me to do that, but starting next month, I’ll allocate much more time to Tesla, now that I have the main work to establish government efficiency,” he said.
Tesla CEO Musk faced a bulge of opposition to his work with President Donald Trump. Musk admits that his transition to politics has reached the company’s stock price.
Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted nationwide as they have played a prominent role in the White House.
Tesla is increasingly trying to diversify into high-tech products like robots, but profits fell 71% to $409 million compared to $139 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Tesla shares rose about 4% in after-hours trading, but lost 50% of its value from its peak in mid-December.
Musk reiterated the call from its established electric vehicle business that it intends to adopt Tesla in two new products, two new products. Two ideas investors are skeptical of.
Musk said Tesla is still on track to begin selling Robotaxi vehicles in Austin, Texas in June, and placed Tesla in a direct competition with Google Spinoff Waymo, which launched Robotaxi Rides via the Uber app in March.
In its written revenue report, Tesla said in its “uncertainty in the automobile and energy markets” and “changes in political sentiment” related to “rapidly evolving trade policies,” it “could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near future.”
He also said that the updates to the bestseller Model Y, which affected market availability, contributed to the shortage.
“We continue to work to expand our business model as we navigate these headwinds to provide autonomous robots for driving multiple form factors and use cases with real AI expertise to our customers and for use in our factories,” he said.
He said that due to a wide range of trends, including the impact from tariffs, other companies are not prepared to provide guidance for performance, which is a decision to make. Tesla boasts that it is the “most American-made” car, but it is still facing tariff exposure due to imported parts.
It said it would “revisit” the 2025 guidance in three months.
“It is difficult to measure the impact of global trade policy on the cost structure and demand for automotive and energy supply chains, durable goods and related services,” Tesla said in the Outlook section of the report.
Musk faces pressure from many sides, from investors who want him to pay more attention to the company, and from his job in the Trump administration, where he volunteers to cut government programs.
Musk has been spending much of his time with President Donald Trump and government efficiency, but still maintains the CEO role at Tesla and SpaceX.
The CNBC National Economic Survey, released Tuesday, highlighted the depth of negative feelings towards Tesla and Musk. 47% had a positive view of the company’s negative view, with half being Musk’s negative view compared to 36% who saw him positively.
“Tesla has become a political symbol around the world,” said Daniel Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, in an interview with CNBC after the revenue report was released.
Ives said the political debate not only reduced demand for vehicles, but also hurt Tesla because it became a target for retaliatory tariffs by other countries such as China.
The revenue report cites “changes in political sentiment” as a headwind of demand, as it did not explicitly mention repeated vandalism against Tesla vehicles or peaceful protests in the showroom.
A key question from Tesla, Musk and the Trump administration was when Musk stayed in his White House position. His work as a “special government employee” has been restricted by law for 130 days for 365 consecutive days, allowing him to place legally mandated endpoints in late May. Musk told Fox News this month that he believes “most” of his work will be made by the deadline.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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