Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that he plans to reduce the hours of working at the White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to focus more on electric car manufacturers whose sales plummeted in the first quarter.
“I’ll probably start [the] Musk said on a Tesla revenue call on Tuesday evening. “I think I have to continue doing that. I think I have to continue with the rest of my presidential term to make sure waste and fraud go off.
The tech billionaire said he is likely to spend one or two days a week on “government issues” “as long as the president wants it from me, as long as it’s useful,” but said the main work is being done to establish Doge.
May 30th marked the end of Musk’s special government position and dozens of Democrats called out to Trump earlier this month to confirm that Musk will leave his role in the administration by that day.
Tesla’s quarterly profit fell 71%, the company announced Monday, falling to $409 million, or 12 cents per share. The company’s revenue fell 9% to $19.3 billion, much lower than analysts expect.
The results include massive layoffs at federal agencies and guing for federal spending programs as Musk faces oversight of Doge’s leadership.
“I think the right thing to do here is to fight waste and fraud and get the country on the right track and work with President Trump and his administration because if an American ship falls, we all, including Tesla and everyone else, will take it down,” Musk told investors.
Musk’s comments about his time allocation come just hours after a group of eight Democrat treasurers wrote a letter to the chairman of Tesla’s board of directors about the company’s debilitating performance.
In a letter to Tesla Chairman Robin Denholm, the accounting expressed concern that the company’s recent difficulties represent “deep governance and leadership challenges” that could ultimately affect the state.
“CEO Elon Musk continues to divide his attention within the federal government into multiple companies and well-known advice roles,” they write. “These external commitments raise serious questions about whether Tesla’s leadership is fully addressing the company’s core challenges.”
