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Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon, Says Politico
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April 2, 2025
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3:08Now PlayingTesla Inc. investors shrugged off the company’s worst vehicle sales since 2022 and bid up its shares on hopes that Elon Musk will step back from his work for the Trump administration. Bloomberg's Nathan Dean reports.
While the billionaire has yet to make an announcement about his plans, a report by Politico Wednesday suggested his time as a top adviser to Donald Trump may end soon. The president has told his inner circle recently that the Tesla chief executive officer will return to his businesses in the coming weeks, according to the news outlet, which cited unidentified Trump insiders.
Tesla’s stock jumped as much as 5.9% following the report, reversing earlier declines, and barely budged after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Politico’s story “garbage.”
Questions over Musk’s focus on Tesla have been a significant concern for investors of late. Some shareholders have criticized the electric-vehicle maker for lacking a clear strategy to deal with consumer backlash against its CEO and sufficiently address its aging product lineup.
“Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla, so the news of him refocusing his efforts on the company dominate any negatives,” said Dave Mazza, CEO at Tesla shareholder Roundhill Financial Inc. “While sharply deteriorating sales without a defined plan to fix them would normally sink any stock, Tesla isn’t any other stock.”
Leavitt said in an X post that Musk already stated plans to relinquish his role as a special government employee when his work at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is complete. Under the initiative known as DOGE, Musk aims to slash the federal workforce and eliminate some entire agencies.
“The more political he gets with DOGE, the more the brand suffers,” Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said in a note Wednesday. “Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE.”
Tesla shares gained in the weeks after Trump’s victory on the expectation that Musk’s ties to the president-elect would benefit the EV maker. But those gains were wiped out in early 2025.
Musk has since asserted himself in Washington and beyond in support of far-right candidates and causes, leading to protests in the US and Europe.
“Tesla shareholders know that there is key-man risk with Elon Musk, as much of its valuation is tied to innovation outside of EVs. Without Elon’s full attention, the valuation was at risk,” said David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors LLC. “This news should be welcoming to shareholders.”
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