Elon is out (or is he?)

Talk about a bumpy road.

Yesterday, Tesla reported some bad news: The company only delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter, a 13% drop from the same period last year. Analysts were expecting a range of between 360,000 and 370,000 vehicle deliveries.

The figure looks even worse when you realize that the rest of the auto industry drove into Q1 pretty hot. Tesla competitor and fellow EV-maker BYD saw its annual sales jump a staggering 60% in the first quarter, while domestic carmaker GM reported 17% sales growth.

Unlike its competitors, Tesla was dealing with boycotts and political backlash from Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration. But even Wedbush analyst and famed Tesla bull Dan Ives had to admit that these numbers looked rough.

“We are not going to look at these numbers with rose colored glasses…they were a disaster on every metric,” Ives wrote in a note today. “Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE,” he added, while maintaining his “outperform” rating and $550 price target for the stock.

However, Tesla managed to pull off an impressive U-turn today on reports that Musk might be answering shareholders’ prayers and departing DOGE to re-focus on his main job: Posting on X Leading his companies, including Tesla.

Politico reported that President Trump told his “inner circle” that Musk was on his way out. Even though the White House denied the report, the rumor was enough to buoy Tesla’s beleaguered stock 5.33% higher this afternoon.

Waiting for the tariff shoe to drop

But another speedbump is on the horizon: Trump’s tariff policy threatens to upend the auto industry.

While Tesla’s manufacturing is less susceptible to tariffs since it operates mainly out of American factories, it’s still exposed to tariffs because it buys some parts abroad, according to Tech Brew.

But if there’s one thing we know for sure about Musk, it’s that he’s escaped the jaws of defeat more than once. Only time will tell if he can get Tesla out of this rut, or if his rumored DOGE departure is too little, too late.—LB