Elon Musk has had a roller coaster of a day.
On Tuesday night, Musk’s favored conservative candidate failed to win a
Wisconsin Supreme Court
election despite the billionaire and his super PAC dropping at least $15.5 million on the race.
On Wednesday morning, Musk received more bad news.
Tesla reported first-quarter deliveries
were well below analysts’ estimates. Shares in Musk’s signature company are down roughly 30% this year.
Musk chose this path himself. He has enthusiastically touted the
White House DOGE office
, even as polling has indicated his popularity has plummeted. In Wisconsin, polling found that Musk was more unpopular among Republicans than President
Donald Trump
.
But somewhat remarkably, the double whammy of bad news preceded a win for Musk. A
report
from Politico, citing three unnamed Trump insiders, said the president’s inner circle was preparing for Musk to step back from his role at the White House. Tesla’s stock bounced back from early losses and ended the day up 5%.
The White House later disputed Politico’s report.
“This ‘scoop’ is garbage,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”
Democrats hammered Musk
throughout the Wisconsin race. He decided to go to the state directly, wearing a Cheesehead hat in Green Bay and mugging for the cameras as he handed out millions in giveaways to supporters. (Musk first said the $1 million checks were for voters but then said they were for select Wisconsinites that his political organization wanted as spokespeople.)
The
Tesla CEO
also chose to join Trump’s administration, juggling the responsibilities of leading his automaker, SpaceX, and xAI. Initially, it was thought that Musk would co-lead Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” outside the government.
It didn’t take long for his proximity to Trump to blow back on his companies, namely Tesla. There have been protests at Tesla dealerships around the globe. Some protesters have resorted to violence, with one accused of
firebombing a Tesla dealership
.
Wednesday’s delivery numbers seemed to confirm fears that Musk’s unpopularity is actively harming his flagship company. Tesla reported a 13% decline in deliveries in the first quarter compared with last year.
“The Street and us knew a bad 1Q was coming but this was even worse than expected,” the Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a major Tesla cheerleader, wrote Wednesday morning on X. “The time has come for Musk … it’s a fork in the road moment.”
Musk has seen worse
Musk has said that
Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy
multiple times, including during the Model 3 ramp-up. He also briefly relinquished his title as the world’s richest man early in 2024. Musk then reclaimed the title and saw his wealth skyrocket after the presidential election.
So far, Musk has not shown a desire to change course. He’s urged authorities to go after people he’s labeled domestic terrorists who are
attacking Tesla dealerships
. Musk has also continued to speak in grandiose terms about his political positions — not exactly the words of someone about to trim his sails.
Before polls closed in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Musk said on an X Space that the state Supreme Court election was about “the future of the world” and maybe even “Western civilization.”
Musk told Fox News that the race was so close that “it may be decided by half a percent or a percent,” maybe even a single person.
Judge Brad Schimel, the Musk-endorsed candidate, is on track to lose by 10 percentage points.
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