As Elon Musk shreds the federal workforce and threatens America’s core safety-net, his buddy in the White House, Donald Trump, has been leading the American economy into a recession with his escalating trade war. Now, Musk and Tesla are feeling the financial burn — and the world’s richest man is lashing out.
During a call with investors Tuesday, Musk blamed “paid” and “very organized” protesters for his electric company’s remarkably weak earnings so far in 2025. “They’re obviously not going to admit that the reason that they’re protesting is because they’re receiving fraudulent money, or that they’re the recipients of wasteful largesse, they’re gonna come up with some other reason, but that is the real reason for the protests,” said the billionaire.
Tesla’s quarterly earnings plummeted by 71 percent compared to last year, the company reported Tuesday, as the electric vehicle company saw a 9 percent decline in revenue year over year. Its total earnings were down from $1.4 billion in the first quarter of last year to $409 million in the first quarter this year, the company stated. Tesla’s income was offset by selling $595 million in zero-emissions tax credits, per its earnings report, which helped the company avoid a loss.
“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 stated in an earnings presentation. “This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term.”
The changing political sentiment, of course, has a lot to do with Musk’s gleeful firing of tens of thousands of federal workers in the name of alleged cost savings made by his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as well as his amplification of white nationalists on X — and the straight-armed salute he made during Trump’s post-inauguration rally. Musk and DOGE have slashed the agency that manages Social Security, as he’s falsely criticized America’s core safety-net program as a “Ponzi scheme.”
Musk, who poured $290 million into efforts to elect Trump and Republicans, has seen Tesla become a political lightning rod, with protestors taking out their frustrations over DOGE on his electric vehicle company. Trump, the man he helped elect, has launched a global economic trade war and refuses to let up on China, which has retaliated against his import taxes of 145 percent, countering with 125 percent.
During Tuesday’s call, however, Musk continued to avoid taking responsibility for the political nightmare he created for his company. He instead touted DOGE’s “progress in addressing waste and fraud,” and reiterated his commitment to “working together with President Trump and his administration, because if the ship of America goes down, you’ll go down with it, including Tesla and everyone else.”
Musk said that while he will begin scaling back from his work with the White House “probably in May,” he expects to continue working with the Trump administration for the remainder of the president’s term. He added that he will begin spending more time on Tesla affairs starting next month.
Tesla backlash is at an all-time high, whether acted on through bumper stickers and peaceful protests or torched vehicles and vandalized company facilities. As calls for boycotts against Tesla have spread across the globe, sales have plummeted across the board, and the company’s latest product, the stainless steel-paneled Cybertruck, has been a flop.
However, Musk ended his call on an optimistic note despite the public displeasure with his work alongside Trump and plunging Tesla profits. “I continue to believe that Tesla, with excellent execution, will be the most valuable company in the world,” said Musk. “By far.”
“We’re not on the ragged edge of death, not even close,” he added.
