Musk said he would still spend "one or two days" a week on government matters if Trump wanted to, but would allocate more time toTesla. He said that he would try his best to urge Trump to lower tariffs, but at the same time emphasized that the decision on tariffs depends entirely on the President of the United States and will continue to advocate lowering tariffs rather than raising tariffs. This is all he can do. Musk said Tesla's "more affordable cars" are essentially cheaper versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla's performance has plummeted, and CEO Musk is finally withdrawing from his much-criticized "political" activities.
During Tesla's earnings call after the U.S. stock market closed on Tuesday, April 22, Eastern Time, Musk said that starting in May, the time he devotes to the Trump administration's "Department of Government Effectiveness" (DOGE) will be "significantly" reduced, and he will devote "far more" time to Tesla. Musk claimed during the conference call:
President Trump would still spend "one or two days" a week on government business if he wished, but would allocate more time to Tesla.
At the same time, Musk stated his position in the earnings call and will try his best to urge Trump to reduce tariffs, but also emphasized:
Tariff decisions are entirely up to the President of the United States, and I will continue to advocate for lower tariffs, not higher tariffs, and that's all I can do.
Tesla previously announced its first-quarter financial report, with revenue of US$19.34 billion, while analysts had previously predicted US$21.43 billion, which was far lower than the US$21.3 billion in the same period last year. Tesla’s adjusted earnings per share were $0.27, also well below forecasts of $0.44. After Musk said he would significantly reduce DOGE work input, Tesla's stock price rose further after the market closed, currently up more than 5%.
Summary of key points of Tesla’s first quarter performance report + conference call:
Adjusted earnings per share and revenue in the first quarter were lower than expected, and vehicle deliveries fell, with deliveries of models including the CyberTruck down 24%. The growth prospects for 2025 will be reviewed in the second quarter, and new cars are expected to be put into production in the first half of the year.
Political sentiment is seen as a risk, and vandalism and hostility were some of the reasons for the decline in sales in the first quarter.
Trump's trade policies feature prominently in investor performance reports. Tesla did not reiterate its forecast for a return to sales growth this year, citing uncertainty over trade policy.
Musk said he told Trump it would be better for the country to "lower tariffs," but ultimately the decision on tariffs rests with the president.
Musk said he would spend "one or two days" a week if President Trump needed his help with government affairs, but he will allocate most of his time to Tesla starting in May, and most of DOGE's affairs have been completed.
Musk said participating in DOGE’s work was the right thing to do. He will continue to support U.S. President Trump through DOGE to "ensure that the waste and fraud we stopped will not return."
Musk said that most people will not buy cars in the future.
Tesla's "more affordable cars" are basically cheaper versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Powerwall deployment exceeds 1 gigawatt-hour for the first time.
After the release of the performance report and the analyst conference call, Tesla rose 5.28% after the market closed, temporarily trading at $250.53.
RoboTaxi debuts in June: self-driving ambitions revealed, targeting Waymo’s weaknesses
Musk revealed that Tesla will launch RoboTaxi in Austin, Texas, USA in June.
Musk said there will be 10-20 vehicles initially and will form a "localized parameter setting" in Austin. Bloomberg reporters believe that this is actually a geofencing system.
During the conference call, Musk launched a direct attack on rival Alphabet’s self-driving business Waymo, saying:
Waymo's sensor suite is expensive. I don’t know who can compete with our team right now. In the next few years, we will have 10 million driverless cars on the road. Their production costs are much higher (Waymo).
Musk expects that driven by higher production volumes, Tesla model production costs will be only a quarter of Waymo's. Musk also boldly predicted:
In the future, most people will not need to buy a car. In the near future, buying a gas-powered vehicle that lacks self-driving capabilities will be akin to riding a horse and using a flip phone.
Optimus robot accelerates mass production, annual production target reaches one million units
Musk presented his future plans for Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus at the conference, saying Tesla has "made good progress" in this regard.
Musk said he expects "at least several thousand units" of Optimus to be working in the Tesla factory by the end of 2025. He also revealed that Optimus will speed up its annual production to 1 million units in the next five years. When asked about Optimus's supply chain, Musk said actions have been taken to localize the supply chain and reduce risks.
Tesla's after-hours earnings conference sent a clear signal: the company is fully betting on autonomous driving and humanoid robotics technology. These two areas will become the core engines of Tesla's future growth.
Despite poor performance in the first quarter of this year, Musk said:
First-quarter results tend to be the worst time of the year because people don't want to buy cars before winter is over. Despite facing various headwinds, the future will be brighter than before.