Tesla profit plunge: Elon Musk pledged to step away from DOGE

Elon Musk has pledged to step away from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after his electric car firm TESLA, reported a huge profit plunge for the start of this year.

Musk announced to all Tesla investors on Tuesday that he would reduce the time allocated at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to a day or two a week starting from next month to focus on Tesla.

“Starting next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said during a Tesla earnings call.

The Tesla boss defended his work with the  Department of Government Efficiency, saying that it was necessary to cut back on waste and fraud as he urged investors to look beyond the bumps and potholes immediately ahead.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla cars around the world.

Tesla revenue report

On Tuesday, Tesla reported that its revenue fell 9%, with auto revenue falling 20%. Adjusted income tumbled 39%. Those drops were bigger than forecast. Its net income, the strictest definition of its profitability, plunged 71% compared to a year earlier.

The company warned investors that the pain could continue, declining to offer a growth forecast while saying “changing political sentiment” could meaningfully hurt demand.

Musk blamed Tesla profit plunge on people who try to attack him and the Doge team.

The company shares had shed about 37% of their value this year as of market close on Tuesday. They rose by more than 5% in after-hours trading following the results.

Trump’s tariffs on China also weighed heavily on Tesla. Although the vehicles Tesla sells in its home market are assembled in the US, it still imports parts for the cars it builds at its US factories. “Rapidly evolving trade policy” could hurt its supply chain and raise costs, according to the company.

Musk did not specifically blame Trump for the uncertainty about trade policy, although he did try to put some distance between himself and the administration on that issue.

“The tariff decision is entirely up to the President of the United States,” he said. “I will weigh in with my advice. I’ve been on the record many times saying lower tariffs are a good idea for prosperity. I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs. That’s all I can do.”

Musk added that he thought Tesla was the car company least affected by tariffs because of its localised supply chains in North America, Europe and China, but he said that tariffs were still tough on a company where margins are low.