Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he would be stepping back from his work leading DOGE, in May.
Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday he would be stepping back from his work leading President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, amid sinking Tesla profits.
In an earnings call Tuesday, Musk said there had been “blowback” for the time he had been spending on governmental matters, so he would be allocating “significantly” less time to DOGE starting in May, at a commitment of just one or two days a week for the duration of the president’s term. Tesla and Musk have been the target of numerous protests across the country in recent weeks, led by people incensed by his far-reaching directives.
Musk, who is designated as a “special governmental employee” is technically limited to working no more than 130 out of 365 days, NPR reported.
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However, his announcement came right after Tesla reported a quarterly profit drop of 71% to $409 millon. Its revenue also fell 9% to $19.3 billion in its first quarter, below what Wall Street analysts had forecasted.
In the call, Musk said Tesla had gone through “many a crisis” over the years, including “near-death experiences.” But he did not characterize the company’s quarterly numbers as being “even close” to those moments.
Noting the “large slog of work” necessary to get the DOGE team in financial health was “mostly done,” Musk said he believed the work the team had done was “very important for trying to reign in the insane deficit” that was leading the United States to destruction. Musk has said his budget-slashing group could shave at least $150 billion from the federal budget, though he previously said their actions could save $1 trillion, the New York Times reported.
His group, which is tasked with clearing out “governmental waste,” swiftly organized the firings of federal workers, axed diversity, equity and inclusion grants and eliminated numerous environmental programs. In just the last week, protesters against Trump and Musk — have rallied nationwide.
Protests have also mounted in opposition to Tesla. In an unprecedented twist, President Trump himself spoke out against consumers’ calls to boycott Musk’s companies and vowed he would purchase a Tesla. The FBI also launched a task force to investigate any violent activity toward Tesla properties. The Justice Department, too, brought charges against three people alleged to have used Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations.
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On the call, Musk claimed the protests were “organized and paid for,” and said those who were no longer receiving “wasteful” and “fraudulent” dollars were trying to attack him, his DOGE team, and anything associated with him, including Tesla.
“I believe the right thing to do is to fight the waste and the fraud and get the country back on the right track,” said Musk. “Because if the ship of America goes down, we all go down with it, including Tesla and everyone else.”
Musk has alienated a large base of consumers since he was appointed to head DOGE, in addition to his public support for far-right politicians in Europe. The company, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, plans to launch a paid autonomous robotaxi service in Austin by June.
He proclaimed that with “excellent execution,” Tesla would become the most valuable company in the world “by far.”
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“I encourage people to look beyond the bumps and potholes of the road immediately ahead of us,” he said, often taking long pauses in between his sentences. “Lift your gaze to the bright shining citadel on the hill … I don’t know … some Reagan-esque imagery. That’s where we’re headed.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
