Elon Musk makes a strange claim about Tesla protestors after the company's profit plunge.
The US carmaker has certainly had a rough start to the year.
Since the Tesla boss became Senior Advisor to President Trump and led the administration's (DOGE), the company saw a major slump in profits and revenues in the first quarter of 2025. Musk's heavy involvement in the White House and his efforts to brand Tesla as a political symbol have only caused drama for the brand, sparking boycotts and protests around the world.
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But the tech billionaire always has something to say when it comes to opposition.
In response to the outrage, Musk recently claimed that the Tesla protestors were 'very organised.' Without offering any evidence, the world's richest man argued some people are likely protesting 'because they’re receiving fraudulent money' or are 'recipients of wasteful largesse.'
At the same time, Musk says he’s planning to step back from politics 'significantly,' admitting that his time in the White House has distracted him from focusing on his automotive business. As of next month, the 53-year-old said he would spend one to two days per week on government matters 'as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it's useful.'
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Musk previously hinted his 'necessary' role at DOGE would come to an end soon, saying that 'working for the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.' He is officially classed as a 'special government employee' who is expected to work for the government for 130 days or less in a year, according to The Department of Justice. The Trump administration will hit its 130th day at the end of May.
When the DOGE advisory board was first announced, Musk promised to help save $2 trillion in federal spending by 2026, before backtracking on this goal. Over on the official DOGE website, the program claims to have saved the government an estimated $160 billion as per Sunday's update. However, the authenticity of the figures has been questioned by officials as well as some of the larger savings being quietly removed from the website.
Meanwhile, in its latest earnings report, Tesla reported that it has lost around $600 billion in market value, revenue has dropped by 20% compared to last year, and profits have fallen over 70%.
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Furthermore, the automotive company has been reportedly slashing car prices to attract customers, but it hasn’t been enough to offset the decline.
In its statement to investors, Tesla didn’t give much guidance for growth besides AI and said that 'changing political sentiment' could continue to hurt demand.