Musk tells Tesla investors he will be stepping back from DOGE

Elon Musk said he’ll be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency and devoting more time to his businesses, a reassuring message delivered to investors as Tesla profits nosedive.

Mr. Musk, who heads up President Trump’s cost-cutting efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency, was already expected to wind down his White House in May. Mr. Musk was brought on as a special government employee. That means he can only work for a total of 130 days out of the year anyway. Mr. Trump crosses the 100-day mark next week.

Still, he promised Tesla investors in a conference call Tuesday that “my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly” starting next month.

He said he would continue to dedicate one or two days a week “on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it is useful.”

“I’ll have to continue doing it for I think the remainder of the president’s term just to make sure the waste and fraud that we stopped does not come roaring back, which it will do if it has the chance,” Mr. Musk said.

He also acknowledged “some blowback” that Tesla has received since his affiliation with the Trump administration.

“I encourage people to look beyond the bumps and potholes of the road immediately ahead of us. Lift your gaze to the bright shining citadel on the hill — I don’t know, some Reagan-esque imagery — and that’s where we’re headed.”

Democrats have launched blistering criticism at Mr. Musk for leading the charge to lay off federal workers and slash federal spending. As a result, the political left went from loving to hating Tesla’s electric vehicles, with Tesla dealerships being firebombed, scores of the electric cars vandalized and sales plummeting.

The company faced a 71% drop in profits and a 9% decline in revenue in the first quarter.

In one example of the antipathy for Mr. Musk and his company, a New Mexico man faces federal charges for arson attacks on the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom and the Republican Party of New Mexico. The attack included Graffiti spray-painted in red and black paint on the building and six vehicles, including the phrases “Die Elon,” “Tesla Nazi Inc” and “Die Tesla Nazi” along with swastika symbols.

In this environment, Mr. Musk delivered a reassuring message to investors that he was getting back to business.

Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives said Mr. Musk “has handled the conference call very well.”

“Recommit to Tesla and major step back on DOGE. This was well communicated by Musk on this call in our view … needed to hear this tone and direction,” he wrote on social media.

Tesla shares saw a 5% increase in after-hours trading Tuesday, but are still down over 40% for the year. In early trading on Wednesday, Tesla stock was up about 8%.

Mr. Trump has said he wants Mr. Musk to stay in the role as long as he can, but understands that he needs to get back to his companies.

• This story is based in part on wire service reports.