Tesla’s Musk plans to cut back work with Trump to one or two days per week

SAN FRANCISCO - Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said on April 22 that he will cut back his work for US President Donald Trump to a day or two a week starting some time in May, after the billionaire’s aggressive cost-cutting tactics sparked public backlash and investor concern.

Mr Musk’s 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration is set to expire around late May.

“I think starting probably next month, in May, my time allocation to Doge (Department of Government Efficiency) will drop significantly,” Mr Musk told investors on a conference call after the electric carmaker reported results that topped Wall Street’s rock-bottom expectations.

Tesla has faced a troubling few months as deliveries of its ageing line-up of electric vehicles have nosedived,

Mr Musk’s political activities have drawn protests

, and its stock has nearly halved from its December peak.

Many investors had been calling for Mr Musk to leave his work as Mr Trump’s adviser and manage Tesla more closely.

Mr Musk said the major work setting up his cost-cutting Doge initiative was done.

Under his leadership and with the stated aim of increasing efficiency, Doge staff upended agencies in a sweeping restructuring that has challenged congressional authority and faced a series of lawsuits.

Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, has defended his role as an unelected official who was granted unprecedented authority by Mr Trump to dismantle parts of the US government.

As at April 22, Doge estimated on its website that it has saved US taxpayers some US$160 billion (S$210.4 billion).

However, the group’s calculations have been rife with errors, corrections and incomplete explanations. REUTERS