Topline
The world’s richest person got much richer Wednesday as shares of Elon Musk’s car company Tesla soared following the company’s first-quarter earnings update—which offered little encouragement in its traditional financial results, but gave investors what they long yearned for: Musk recommitting to Tesla after months of paying his near undivided attention to the White House.
Elon Musk attends a White House cabinet meeting in February.
Key Facts
Musk’s net worth climbed $10.2 billion to $371.9 billion Wednesday, according to our latest calculations, extending his lead over the next wealthiest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, to $170 billion.
The spike came as shares of Tesla shot up almost 8% to $256 in response to its late Tuesday Q1 report, which was ugly by most metrics, as profits and revenues both came in below consensus forecasts at multiyear lows.
Tesla certainly got a boost from a broader rally tied to President Donald Trump’s relenting on his China trade standoff and his threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell – the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 3% – but the rally largely came as Musk confirmed his dedication to Tesla.
“Mea culpa Elon” was the tone struck by the Tesla chief on the earnings call, remarked Evercore ISI analysts led by Chris McNally, as Musk said he’ll be “allocating far more” of his time to the company starting next month.
That was music to the ears of many investors and analysts who had expressed concerns about the extensive time Musk spent as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – and the associated damage to Tesla’s brand as Musk’s outspoken politics rubbed many potential customers the wrong way.
In addition to Musk’s rededication to Tesla, also helping catalyze the stock rally were the confirmation of June launch plans for the driverless “robotaxi” and the beginning of production of lower-cost electric vehicles during the first half of this year, according to Guggenheim analyst Ronald Jewsikow.
Musk Says He Still Won’t Leave White House Entirely
“I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so,” Musk said during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Musk Criticizes Trump Tariffs
Musk described Tesla as the “least affected car company” by Trump’s tariffs, but the senior advisor to the president again made clear he disagrees with Trump on his signature trade policy. “I’ve been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity,” said Musk, continuing the tariff “decision is fundamentally up to” Trump. “So I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs, but that’s all I can do,” shrugged Musk.
Key Background
Tesla stock is still down almost 40% year-to-date, far worse than the S&P 500’s 8% decline as Trump’s oft-changing tariffs led to increased concerns of a recession. Musk donated $288 million toward Trump election causes, making him the largest political donor of the 2024 election cycle. Musk’s role as the head of DOGE, in which he oversaw cost-cutting efforts including mass federal government layoffs, brought significant backlash to Tesla, as sales slumped globally as protests and vandalism spread. In addition to his roles at DOGE and Tesla, Musk is also the CEO of aerospace giant SpaceX, generative AI startup xAI and several other companies. Tesla faced a “code red” situation if Musk didn’t recommit to the company, warned Wedbush analyst Dan Ives ahead of earnings.
Further Reading
