Musk drives Tesla calmly through investors’ red lights

THE bond market put the brakes on Donald Trump’s mega-tariff plan earlier this month. Prices fell, people got “yippy”, and the US president blinked. But what delimits the comfort zone of his right-hand man and governmental cost-cutter Elon Musk? How far do Tesla shares fall before he puts both hands back on the wheel?

Investors got half an answer on Tuesday (Apr 22), with Tesla’s first-quarter earnings. Musk kicked off a call with analysts by saying he’ll be mostly back to his day job from next month, devoting only a couple of days a week to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, pending the president’s wishes. The shares rose in after-hours trading, modestly.

There’s no denying Musk’s time-sapping role at Doge has weighed on Tesla’s stock. No US-listed company has lost more dollars of market capitalisation since its post-election peak, except the far-larger Apple and Nvidia.