Tesla CEO Elon Musk attempted to use the EV maker’s earnings calls to quell concerns about his work with the Trump administration. He plans to leave his day-to-day role at the Department of Government Efficiency in a month to focus on Tesla.
Tesla/DOGE chief Elon Musk plans to return to handling the day-to-day operations of Tesla in a month, leaving DOGE to run with minimal involvement.
Musk said he was aware of the “blowback” about his role with the Trump administration, but that he felt like DOGE was nearly to a place where it could run on its own. This would allow him to focus on Tesla, which is facing headwinds.
“I think, starting probably in next month, May, my time allocation to Doge will drop significantly,” he said, adding he plans to be involved throughout the tenure of Trump’s presidency.
“So I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters, or as long as the President would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” he said.
Tough quarter
Tesla earnings fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, with automotive revenue down 20%.
Tesla reported revenue of $19.3 billion for the quarter with its adjusted EBITDA coming in at $2.8 billion. Those numbers were down 9% and 17%, respectively. Net income was $409 million, which was down 71%.
The company’s automotive operations lie at the heart of the decline in the results with automotive revenues down 20% compared to the year-ago period.
“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,” the company wrote to shareholders.
Tesla officials warn the picture for doesn’t look like it will improve anytime soon, but they plan to stay the course.
“This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term,” the company wrote.
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot could fill a wide variety of roles especially in commercial environments.
Optimism still reigns
Despite the tough Q1 results, Musk believes the company’s push into AI-oriented businesses, such as autonomous vehicles and robots will lead it to become the most valuable company ever.
The future of the company is fundamentally based on large scale autonomous cars and large scale and large volume, vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots,” he said, later adding, “I continue to believe that Tesla, with excellent execution, will be the most valuable company in the world, by far. That’s an important ‘if,’ we must execute well. But we do execute well, I think Tesla will be the most valuable company in the world. By far, it may be as valuable as the next five companies combined.
He noted the company expects to begin building the Optimus robots revealed last year in large numbers by the end of this year, with sales beginning in June. He noted the company would see its robots and autonomous cars begin to “move the needle” in the second half of next year.
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