During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk announced that he would significantly reduce his involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), effective May 2025.
This announcement received a positive response from TSLA investors, resulting in a rise in the company’s stock despite Tesla missing some Q1 expectations.
In his opening remarks, Musk acknowledged the backlash Tesla has faced due to his work with DOGE.
While he suggested that this backlash seems organized and potentially funded, he clearly indicated that it’s time for him to allocate more time to Tesla.
“Starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly… I’ll be allocating probably more of my time to Tesla now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,” Musk expressed.
The response from Washington was swift, with President Donald Trump commenting on Musk’s pending departure from DOGE.
Trump, who praised Musk’s contributions to the administration, insisted that the criticism faced by Tesla has been extremely unfair.
“I also know that he was treated very unfairly by the, I guess he called the public, by some of the public, not by all of it.
He makes an incredible car.
Everything he does is good, but they took it out on Tesla, and I just thought it was so unfair, because he’s trying to help the country, but he has helped the country,” Trump stated, emphasizing Musk’s patriotism.
In another development, Neuralink, another of Musk’s ventures, is reportedly gearing up for a $500 million funding round, with a pre-money valuation of $8.5 billion.
According to Bloomberg, preliminary discussions with investors have begun, and Neuralink could be valued at $9 billion post-money.
However, the terms for this funding round remain fluid, and Neuralink has not yet made a comment on these developments.
Previously, PitchBook valued Neuralink at only $3.5 billion in November 2023, indicating a significant surge in interest and valuation.
Neuralink aims to create devices that enable users to interact with tech using only their brains.
For now, the company is mostly focused on helping paralyzed individuals and patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Musk has also suggested that the technology could be used to address vision problems and other health issues in the future.
Recent reports show that Neuralink has expanded its human trial to include three patients, which participants are a part of the ongoing primary and convoy study.
Aligning with the upward trajectory of his companies, Musk’s wealth continues to soar.
As of now, his net worth has reached an impressive $310 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In the realm of Tesla’s financial performance, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter expressed renewed confidence in the electric car manufacturer after its Q1 2025 earnings call.
Piper Sandler reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a price target of $400 for TSLA, showing optimism regarding Tesla’s forthcoming robotaxi and affordable vehicle launches.
Despite the company missing some Q1 expectations, its stock experienced an unexpected slight increase in after-hours trading.
Potter noted that the results were meeting the hopes of Tesla supporters and emphasized the importance of the company maintaining its timelines.
He remarked, “In our preview last week, we predicted that (at best) Q1 would be a non-event.
However, with the stock trading up slightly in the after-hours session, it appears our best-case scenario has materialized.
Given generally weak Q1 financials, we think this is the best result that TSLA bulls could have reasonably hoped for.”
The key takeaway from Q1, according to Potter, is that Tesla did not downplay expectations concerning its upcoming launches of Robotaxis and lower-priced vehicles during the first half of 2025.
With less than two months until the end of June, investors can look forward to crucial developments in the weeks ahead.
Piper Sandler’s analysis indicates that this outlook should keep market bears at bay until additional details regarding the new product launches and the scope of Robotaxi operations become clearer.
Meanwhile, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a long-time bull on TSLA, echoed Potter’s sentiments, increasing his price target for Tesla stock from $315 to $350, maintaining a BUY rating.
Ives’ assessment came shortly after Musk’s announcement regarding his reduced involvement with DOGE, indicating a sharper focus on Tesla’s objectives.
Tesla’s steady performance in Q1, coupled with its commitment to its 2025 roadmap—including the anticipated Robotaxi launch and affordable vehicle models—has bolstered investor confidence.
In light of these factors, analysts believe that Tesla is well-positioned to navigate the competitive electric vehicle market while advancing its technological edge.
The forthcoming Robotaxi rollout and the introduction of more budget-friendly vehicles are anticipated to drive the company’s stock value throughout 2025.
As part of its strategic maneuvers, Tesla has launched a preliminary version of its Robotaxi fleet in both Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, now available to employees.
While Tesla has not clarified how long the fleet has been operational, it reports having completed over 1,500 trips with a total of 15,000 miles driven.
Currently, these trials use the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite, with human drivers overseeing the vehicles’ movements.
This project is distinct from the more advanced Robotaxi version that Tesla plans to roll out by June, which aims to be fully autonomous.
The company highlighted that the use of this service aids in developing and validating Full Self-Driving networks.
Moreover, the data gathered will contribute to creating a mobile app for facilitating ride requests, vehicle allocation, mission control, and remote assistance.
Tesla intends to integrate this ride-hailing functionality directly into its existing application, rather than launching a standalone app for ride requests.
Back in 2024, Tesla had teased the development of this ride-hailing app, indicating significant investments in both hardware and software ecosystems needed to realize vehicle autonomy with expected profitability.
Tesla’s advancements in this arena have been designed to support a scalable and lucrative autonomous business model, trained on billions of miles of real-world driving data.
As June approaches, anticipation builds around the pilot launch of the Robotaxi program, especially in Austin, which the company has consistently reaffirmed since the start of 2025.
For investors, the combination of Musk’s commitment to refocus on Tesla and the company’s strategic initiatives suggest a period of increased opportunity and development for the electric vehicle leader.
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