Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he would spend less time in Washington working for President Trump after the automaker reported a profit drop of 71 percent in the first three months of the year.
Mr. Musk told Wall Street analysts in a conference call that he would continue to spend “a day or two per week” on Washington matters, probably for the duration of Mr. Trump’s presidency. The billionaire executive is one of Mr. Trump’s closest confidants and has played a leading role in the president’s efforts to slash government spending and cut tens of thousands of federal government jobs.
He spoke less than two hours after Tesla said it had earned $409 million, down from $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The company previously reported net profit of $1.1 billion last year, but revised the figure to reflect changes in the way cryptocurrency assets are valued.
Tesla sales have been slumping because of intense competition from Chinese carmakers like BYD, a lack of new models and Mr. Musk’s support of far-right causes, which has turned off some liberals and centrists from buying Tesla vehicles.
Mr. Musk said recent protests at Tesla showrooms around the world had been conducted by people who stood to lose government handouts because of his work with the Trump administration. “The real reason is that those who are receiving the waste and fraud wish it to continue,” he said.
Tesla remains the most valuable automaker in the world as measured by its stock price, and it sells far more electric vehicles in the United States than any other company.
