Elon to step back from DOGE role: ‘You've made yourself toxic. Mr. Musk’
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Elon Musk announces plans to "significantly" reduce his involvement in Trump's administration as Tesla reports a staggering 71% drop in quarterly profits - but has Musk already permanently damaged his car empire?
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In brief:
- Musk confirms he will spend “significantly” less time in his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) role despite previous White House denials of his departure.
- Musk will redirect focus from his government position back to his struggling electric vehicle company as Tesla reports a 71% decline in quarterly profits.
- The News Agents say Musk’s return to Tesla could do the brand more harm than good, as its traditionally liberal customer base doesn’t want to be associated with Musk.
What’s the story?
Elon Musk has confirmed that he will “significantly” cut back his role in the US government from May in order to spend more time working on his electric car company, Tesla.
Musk, who donated more than a quarter of a billion pounds to Donald Trump’s election campaign, took up the role of Head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) after Trump’s win and was tasked with cutting government spending.
But now Musk has said his “time allocation to DOGE” will “drop significantly”.
He said: "The large slug of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place is mostly done; I'll continue to spend 1-2 days per week as long as the President wants me to."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously dismissed rumours that Musk would step back as “garbage”.
The news coincides with Musk facing growing pressure over a drop in profits for Tesla, with some calling for him to relinquish his role as CEO of the company.
Tesla said on Tuesday that quarterly profits fell by 71% to $409m (£306.77m) from $1.39bn (£1.04bn) in the first quarter of 2024.
Since Musk took the government role protests have been taking place outside of Tesla showrooms and some cars have been vandalised.
Musk and Trump: Is it game over for Elon and The White House?
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Tesla is facing some “absolutely horrendous numbers,” Jon Sopel says, adding that the brand looks “utterly broken - and largely because of Musk’s own actions”.
Musk has made his role as Head of DOGE his priority ahead of his many businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X.
The role saw him taking control of USAID and firing government workers, in an attempt to slash government spending.
“Elon Musk has been a busy man. In the last three months. He's been firing people. He's been jumping up and down. He's been entering the Oval Office.
“The one thing he hasn't been doing is selling cars,” Emily says.
While the latest sales figures for Tesla may have been a wake up call for the billionaire to get back to business, the question remains of whether his presence at Tesla HQ will do more to help or harm the brand.
“Has the Tesla issue emerged because he's not there, he's hands off, and it hasn't been guided very well? Or does the Tesla problem intensify if Musk is more associated with the brand now, given everything that he's been doing at Trump's side in government?”
Because Tesla drivers tend to be on the left, not on the right, Musk’s intrinsic ties to the company and his government position since January may mean the damage is irreversible.
“He's made himself so utterly political that all the liberal people who were thinking of buying a Tesla are thinking, ‘No, I'm not going to buy a bloody Tesla’,” Jon says.
“Who wants to buy a Tesla right now, if you think you are helping Elon Musk? Given his involvement in German politics, his support for the far-right AFD, his Nazi salutes, his support for Tommy Robinson in the UK - and on it goes.
“Not surprisingly, you've made yourself toxic. Mr. Musk.”
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