By Alison Morrow, CNN
(FILES) Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump hosts a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. Musk's rise as President Donald Trump's all-powerful wingman was as rapid and unstoppable as one of his SpaceX rockets. But reports April 2, 2025 are fueling speculation that the billionaire's political career may be coming back to Earth. Politico and ABC News quoted unnamed sources saying Musk could step away from an unprecedented role in which he is spearheading brutal cuts to US government services and has emerged only second to Trump as the face of the administration. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
Elon Muks has been humiliated this week, Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski
Analysis: All it took was losing US$100 billion (NZ$172b) in three months to make Elon Musk change his tune on government work.
The last 24 hours have brought a parade of humiliation for the world's richest edgelord, starting with his $20 million losing bet on the pro-Trump candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Hours after the loss in Wisconsin, Tesla reported its biggest sales drop ever, falling 13 percent in the first quarter, while its No 1 rival grew revenue by 60 percent in the same time period. Then came a Politico report quoting MAGA insiders who say that Musk has overstayed his welcome in Washington.
The White House on Wednesday called the Politico report "garbage," and Musk dismissed it as "fake news" in a social media post.
But the administration confirmed that Musk is expected to wrap up his stint as Trump's hatchet man in late May or June, when his 130 days as a "special government employee" comes to an end. That was enough to reverse a 6 percent decline in Tesla shares - a sign investors are optimistic that Musk will ditch the cheese-hat shenanigans and focus on his company's rapidly shrinking market share (and maybe, possibly, deliver on his long-delayed promises to revolutionise autonomous driving.)
In short: Voters, customers, investors and the MAGA elite say the Elon Musk show has lost the plot.
Musk has shed more than a quarter of his total net worth since January as Tesla shares have tanked. He remains the world's richest person by a country mile with $323 billion - second-placer Jeff Bezos is still more than $100b behind.
Because Musk is both the public face of Tesla and its biggest individual shareholder, when one suffers, the other suffers in kind. Musk's alliance with the far right has torched Tesla's brand in the eyes of what used to be the carmaker's base: upwardly mobile eco-conscious lefties from the coasts.
It was never clear how Musk planned to replace those customers with folks from red states who have long resisted EV adoption. So far, various attempts to stem the bleeding have only made things worse.
A live Tesla sales pitch with Trump on the South Lawn reeked of desperation. The Commerce secretary's urging of regular Americans to buy Tesla shares, similarly, fell flat. And the FBI threatening to prosecute Tesla vandals as domestic terrorists - a wild re-imagination of the meaning of "terrorism," according to legal experts - only reinforced the sense of desperation around the brand.
US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they sit in a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they sit in a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP / Mandel Ngan
But the ultimate rebuke came from voters. Musk tried to use his virtually infinite money to influence the Wisconsin race, and even showed up in a giant cheese hat at a rally in Green Bay, during which he handed out two $1 million cheques to voters in a stunt that faced an immediate legal challenge.
His effort backfired, and the state court retained its 4-3 liberal majority.
Bottom line: Money can buy a lot of things, but not all things. And with Tesla's continued sales drop, Musk is getting a harsh reminder that he's not the only one who can wield a pocketbook to send a message.
-CNN