Tesla Profits Dive 70% as Elon Musk Vows to Slash Time Spent on Trump’s “Doge” Agency

Tesla’s brutal first-quarter report showed profits tumbling 71 per cent and global deliveries down 20 per cent year-on-year, prompting CEO Elon Musk to promise he will “significantly” reduce the days he spends running President Trump’s Department for Government Efficiency, or “Doge.” Speaking after the results, the world’s richest man said he would cut his Washington schedule to “one or two days a week,” insisting he must “allocate far more of my time to Tesla” as the firm’s shares have fallen almost 40 per cent in 2025.

Investors and analysts blame a toxic cocktail of consumer boycotts over Musk’s political role, fierce competition in EV markets and Trump’s sweeping China tariffs, which have raised the cost of key components. Tesla warned that “rapidly evolving trade policy” and “changing political sentiment” could continue to hit demand, while supply-chain costs rise. Although Musk argued Tesla is “least affected” thanks to regionalised factories, he conceded tariffs are “still tough on a company where margins are low.”

Musk’s partial retreat may not satisfy critics who say his government post distracts from pressing operational problems: sliding sales, margin compression and stalled product launches. Yet stepping back could ease the backlash that has dented the brand in Europe, China and parts of the U.S. Whether it calms markets is unclear; analysts at AJ Bell called the quarter “rock-bottom,” warning that political turbulence and a potential global trade war leave Tesla navigating “its most challenging road yet.”