On Tuesday, April 22, during a call with analysts to discuss Tesla's first-quarter results, Elon Musk made an announcement that reassured many. "Starting next month, I'm going to be devoting more of my time to Tesla," the billionaire announced, before acknowledging that "the time I'm going to be devoting to Doge is going to decrease significantly." The end of a political episode for Elon Musk, who since Donald Trump's election has been busy with a new cabinet dedicated to modernizing federal technology and maximizing government efficiency.
His role as a special government employee will therefore be reduced, to help Tesla, which has been hit hard by Elon Musk's political shift, seeing its sales collapse and its results approach the red in this first quarter. The automaker, which delivered 336,681 cars this quarter, 12.9% fewer than a year ago, is back to square one. Indeed, without the sale of its carbon credits, which it obtains but finds no use for even though its sales consist solely of electric cars, Tesla would not have been able to post a positive balance sheet this past fiscal year.
Tesla disappointed Wall Street investors, who were expecting revenue of $21.1 billion. Elon Musk's company announced revenue of $19.3 billion, a 9.4% drop compared to the same fiscal year a year ago. As for net profit, it plunged by 71%, to only $409 million... thanks to resold carbon credits (which allowed $595 million to be recovered). In parallel with its poor results, the brand was also subject to significant protest movements in the United States and beyond, with Elon Musk as the first target.
The market reacts to Elon Musk's announcement, Wall Street recovers
For investors, the announcement of Elon Musk's departure from the White House was immediately perceived as good news for the market. In addition to being reassured that Elon Musk has no intention of firing the head of the American central bank (Federal Reserve), Jerome Powell, investors applauded the announcement of Elon Musk's withdrawal this Wednesday morning, in pre-market trading. Tesla's stock is also expected to recover The stock market opened this afternoon (already down 4.6% in pre-market trading), after falling 50% in four months.
For Elon Musk, however, his departure from the White House is not just about a need to get Tesla back on track. He told analysts that his "crucial work" alongside Donald Trump has been "largely accomplished".
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