.jpg?20250426')
Tesla shares rose about 6.5 per cent in premarket trading yesterday after CEO Elon Musk said he would scale back his government involvement, lifting investor hopes of him focusing on the electric carmaker.
Musk said he would cut back his work for US President Donald Trump to a day or two per week from sometime next month since the “large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.”
The billionaire’s work as an adviser to Trump and his embrace of right-wing politics in Europe have drawn widespread opposition, including protests and vandalism at Tesla showrooms.
“His time is very valuable, and I think Tesla needs his attention,” said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management and a prominent investor. “But it doesn’t change that people don’t want the Tesla brand. I don’t know how you fix that.”
Shares of the world’s most valuable carmaker have lost about half its value since hitting a record high in December, reducing its market capitalisation by more than $500 billion, largely on concerns that brand damage could hurt sales for a second straight year.
While some investors welcomed Musk committing more time to Tesla, experts warned the brand faces a long road to recovery, especially as political controversy continues to weigh on its image.
The company reaffirmed plans to launch an affordable model in early 2025, but warned the production ramp could be slower than expected.
Tesla reported a 71pc drop in net profit and a 20pc decline in automotive revenue for the first quarter, missing Wall Street estimates and prompting a review of its full-year delivery forecast amid shifting global trade policies. While Tesla is less likely to be affected by global tariffs than legacy carmakers, it still expects an outsized impact on the fast-growing energy storage business that uses battery cells from China.
&uuid=(email))