Elon Musk vows to spend less time in DC after Tesla’s profits drop 71%

Some of the most visible and successful protests of 2025 have been the organized demonstrations and disinvestments from all things Elon Musk and Tesla. Since Musk accepted his position at the newly-formed DOGE in the Trump administration, people around the world have been working hard to hit Musk where it hurts: Tesla, the biggest piece of his fortune. There have been widespread protests outside of Tesla dealerships across North America and Europe. Few people are buying Teslas, profits are down significantly, and for the past three months, Tesla’s stock has been steadily tanking. There’s still more to do though – Tesla’s stock should crash and burn (like Teslas themselves). Well, the first-quarter numbers are in and they’ve scared the sh-t out of Musk. To the point where he’s now publicly saying that he’s going to spend less time in DC and more time working at Tesla.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he would spend less time in Washington working for President Trump after the automaker reported a profit drop of 71 percent in the first three months of the year.

Mr. Musk told Wall Street analysts in a conference call that he would continue to spend “a day or two per week” on Washington matters, probably for the duration of Mr. Trump’s presidency. He spoke less than two hours after Tesla said it had earned $409 million, down from $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The company previously reported net profit of $1.1 billion last year, but revised the figure to reflect changes in the way cryptocurrency assets are valued.

Tesla sales have been slumping because of intense competition from Chinese carmakers like BYD, a lack of new models and Mr. Musk’s support of far-right causes, which has turned off some liberals and centrists from buying Tesla vehicles.

Mr. Musk said recent protests at Tesla showrooms around the world had been conducted by people who stood to lose government handouts because of his work with the Trump administration. “The real reason is that those who are receiving the waste and fraud wish it to continue,” he said.

Tesla remains the most valuable automaker in the world as measured by its stock price, and it sells far more electric vehicles in the United States than any other company. But its shares have lost about half their value since mid-December as investors have grown more pessimistic about the company’s prospects and concerned about Mr. Musk’s role in the Trump administration. Some investors and analysts have recently called on Mr. Musk to spend more time managing Tesla and limit or end his work for the Trump administration.

[From The NY Times]

EV buyers and potential buyers: are you avoiding Teslas because better EVs are being made by other companies, or are you avoiding Teslas because Elon Musk is a deranged Nazi idiot and you’re now convinced that Teslas are poorly-made death traps? A little of column A, a little of column B, I would think. As I said, from where I sit, this has been one of the most successful protests, especially what they’re doing to Tesla in Europe. It really is hitting Musk where it hurts. Don’t let up – Tesla’s stock could fall even further.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.