The comment comes as Tesla reported lower profits and revenue for the first quarter of 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors Tuesday that the time he is spending with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will “drop considerably” as he moves to spend more time with his auto company.
The remarks came as Tesla on April 22 announced that its profits and revenue dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2025, with the company struggling to deal with competitive pressure and negative political sentiment against Musk.
“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla, and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” Musk told investors on the call.
Musk added he will continue to support the Trump administration with DOGE “to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back.”
His role in the White House and DOGE, which President Donald Trump created via executive order in January to identify wasteful spending in the federal government, has drawn legal challenges, as well as protests across the country at Tesla dealerships and charging locations. Some people have also vandalized or attempted to destroy Tesla vehicles or company property, resulting in federal charges against several individuals.
Tesla said it earned $409 million in net income on $19.3 billion in revenue, representing a 71 percent decrease in year-over-year income and a 9.4 percent decrease in revenue. The firm also reported $595 million in revenue from other auto manufacturers who pay the company for carbon credits, which is up significantly from the previous year.
The company’s automotive revenue, it added, also dropped 20 percent year-over-year, from $17.4 billion in the first quarter of last year to $13.9 billion during the same period this year.
In its letter to shareholders, the company noted that uncertainty about U.S. tariffs and “changing political sentiment” will likely continue to put downward pressure on the company’s revenues and income.
The Trump administration imposed 25 percent tariffs on all auto imports into the United States. Tesla builds its U.S.-sold cars in California and Texas, but it relies on other countries for components.
“Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers,” Tesla said. “This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term.”
Musk also touched on protests against Tesla during the investor call on Tuesday, saying that “those who were receiving the wasteful dollars and the fraudulent dollars will try to attack me and the DOGE team and anything associated with me.”
“Those receiving the waste and fraud wish to continue receiving it,” he said.
The report comes after Tesla this month confirmed a 13 percent decline in sales for the first quarter, making 336,681 deliveries, including 323,800 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and 12,881 other models in that three-month time period. That’s a drop from last year, when 386,810 units were shipped during the first quarter.
Stock for Tesla has also seen a decline in recent months. Since the start of the year, the automaker’s shares have dropped more than 37 percent as of Tuesday afternoon, although the stock is up more than 67 percent year-over-year.
In remarks last month, Musk said that his activity in the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had caused the company’s stock to decline, also noting protests, vandalism, and arson incidents targeting his company.
“This is a very expensive job,” Musk said at a town hall event in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on March 30, referring to his work in the government.
“What [protesters and vandals are] trying to do is put massive pressure on me, and Tesla, I guess, to you know … stop doing this,” he said.
Amid the political headwinds, Musk’s “Tesla stock and the stock of everyone who holds Tesla has gone … roughly in half,” he said. “I mean, it’s a big deal.”
As a special government employee, Musk has 130 days to work in the administration before he has to leave. While Democratic lawmakers in April warned in a letter that he must step down by end of that time period, which occurs in late May, Trump said that Musk will likely leave in “a few months.”
Reuters contributed to this report.