It may be time for the CEO of Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, on the road.
The electric car manufacturer is expected to publish quarterly results on Tuesday afternoon which could say a lot about the direction that Musk and the company he has set up on immense wealth will then go.
The company will update investors on income, profits and other key figures after months of troubles while Musk continues to devote a large part of its time to the Trump administration attempt to radically redo the federal government, far from its corporate responsibilities in Tesla, SpaceX and its other companies.
With the reputation of Tesla’s actions and brand – and with President Donald Trump’s pricing policy threatening to upset the automotive market, Tesla included – many Tesla investors have called Musk to retreat or put an end to her government work and refer her objectives for business.
The Trump administration has sent “Fork on the road” emails encouraging federal workers to consider leaving their jobs.
Even some of Tesla’s most noisy supporters, such as Daniel Ives, director general of Wedbush Securities, have lost patience with the way Musk divides his attention.
“It’s a moment of truth for Musk,” Ives told NBC News. “If he chooses to stay with Doge and Trump’s White House, Tesla’s future could be constantly changed. The brand’s damage he created by being part of the Trump administration have already been a devastating blow for the reputation, stock and Tesla’s confidence.
DOGE refers to the government’s ministry for efficiency, the Musk staff team has spread throughout the executive power, contributing to ordering spending reductions. Musk is a “special government employee” who should leave the Trump administration at some point, but without fixed date to leave.
Musk and Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Monday afternoon to find out if it is stretched too thin and, in the affirmative, what they could do about it.
Tesla should publish profits after closing the market. He should also organize a conference call with Wall Street analysts, and Musk sometimes joins calls.
Several possible paths await us for Musk and Tesla, and it is not clear which is very likely. Musk could go back or put an end to his white house work and spend more time in Tesla. Or he could leave Tesla’s CEO and keep the accent on politics, by putting the future and the brand of the company in someone else’s hands.
The status quo can also last, Musk continuing to bet that it has enough attention for everyone.
Tesla’s course of action provided an instantaneous tumultuous race since Musk threw himself into the Trump administration. Although his stock market course is almost even with the place where he negotiated in the days in advance on the elections, his shares are down more than 50% compared to their December summit. However, Tesla’s total market capitalization remains just more than $ 700 billion, well above those of its competitors in the automotive industry, but below those of large technological companies.
Tesla’s shares plunged before the profits report on Monday, down 5.8%.
Tuesday will mark the first report on Tesla’s gains, because the full role of the role and the ambitions of the Musk government has become clear. Tesla reported on her finances for the last time on January 29, at the start of Trump’s second term.
In the past year, Musk has somewhat aggressively started to rotate Tesla in new possible operations, including an autonomous cybercab vehicle offered and a potential robotic humanoid called Optimus, although the company has shipped any of these products and some on Wall Street are skeptical that they succeed.
In a note to customers, the Researchers on Wells Fargo said that they expected to hear more Tuesla on Tuesday about Cybercab and Optimus, but they called these “dazzling” subjects which “distracting fundamentals”. Wells Fargo has a price target of $ 130 per share for Tesla, well below the closing of $ 227.50 Monday and near the analyst’s price objectives, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Tesla has already issued signs of warning on her health. He reported on April 2 that vehicle deliveries in the first quarter decreased by 13% compared to the previous year, beaten by competition and the benefits of Musk’s participation in politics.
Hundreds of events in Tesla exhibition halls have also weighed on the company. Under the banner of a “Tesla Takedown”, opponents of Musk and Trump government policies targeted the company to try to win a lever effect on Musk, and the demonstrators continued to test Tesla locations, especially on weekends.
Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaorce, marketing and brand advice, said that if another company faced a similar image problem, the board of directors could be intervened to switch the CEO. But Tesla’s board of directors is close and supports Musk.
Now said Adamson, Tesla faces a risk on the most way and musk followed.
“Musk is the magic that has fueled the course of the action,” he said. “If he withdraws (as CEO of Tesla), he eliminates the fuel from the Tesla actions price rocket, but if he remains, he also damages the prospects of the company.”
An unknown factor is the quantity of damage to the permanent Tesla brand. In other words: if Musk had to leave the White House and return to business, would there be an improvement in the brand’s public esteem?
Ives said it was difficult to measure the damage suffered by Tesla.
“He took his own life which he did not expect-it became something bigger and much more a fire that rages than what he expected around Tesla,” he said. “It sells a global consumption mark, and the destruction of demand … You cannot wear pink glasses on this subject, and not to see it would be smoke and mirrors.”
If Musk turns his attention to politics, he would always have a huge challenge to rebuild the company’s reputation, said Adamson. He said Musk should stop other polarizing behavior, such as publishing controversial subjects on X, and that he should improve business innovation. Tesla has launched only one new consumer vehicle since 2020, and this product, Cybertruck, is not very popular.
“I don’t think he can remove a rabbit from a hat quickly to prevent a continuous spiral,” said Adamson.
