Tesla's Q1 Sales Slide to Nearly 3-Year Low After Musk Backlash

But Shares Rally Following Report Suggesting Company CEO May End Stint as Top Trump Adviser

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NEW YORK - Tesla's worldwide sales tumbled in the first quarter, figures showed on April 2, piling further pressure on chief executive Elon Musk, who faces growing backlash for his role in overseeing US federal spending cuts under President Donald Trump.

Investors, however, bid up Tesla shares in the hope that Mr. Musk will step back from his work for the Trump administration.

While the billionaire has yet to make a formal announcement about his plans, a report by Politico on April 2 suggested that his time as a top adviser to Mr. Trump may end soon. The President told his inner circle recently that the Tesla CEO will return to his businesses in the coming weeks, according to the news outlet, which cited unidentified Trump insiders.

Tesla's stock jumped as much as 6.2 per cent following the report, reversing earlier declines, and closed the regular session up 5.3 per cent. The shares barely budged after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Politico's story "garbage," which Mr. Musk re-posted with the comment "yeah, fake news."

Tesla's sales have been on a steep downward trend around the world. The company said on April 2 that its global sales in the first three months of 2025 fell 13 per cent from a year earlier.