Tesla earnings fall short; Elon Musk says DOGE time will 'drop significantly'
Tesla reported a revenue loss from its electric vehicles fall year over year in the first quarter.
The electric vehicle maker, run by CEO Elon Musk, generated $13.97 billion in automotive revenue in the first three months of 2025, marking a drop of nearly 20% from the same quarter last year, according to its earnings release.
During the earnings call, Elon Musk said his "time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly." DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, has been spearheaded by Musk during the early days of the second Trump administration.
Tesla’s overall revenue – including automotive, energy generation and storage, and services and other revenue – came in at $19.3 billion for the first quarter, decreasing 9% compared to last year’s first quarter.
According to the company, fewer vehicle deliveries "in part due to the Model Y update across all four vehicle factories" contributed to the drop in its total revenue as well as "reduced vehicle average selling price, due to mix and sales incentives" and other factors.
TESLA'S FIRST-QUARTER DELIVERIES FALL AMID SLOW DEMAND, MUSK CONTROVERSY
Earlier in the month, the EV maker, which has been dealing with protests and violence in recent months stemming from Musk’s position in DOGE, said vehicle deliveries clocked in at 323,800 for the first quarter. In the same three-month period last year, it made 386,810 deliveries.
According to Tesla, its energy generation and storage brought in $2.73 billion in revenue, a 67% jump year over year. Meanwhile, services and other revenue grew 15% year over year to hit nearly $2.64 billion in the first quarter.
The company noted that "uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers."
"This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term."
For quarterly net income, Tesla reported $409 million. Meanwhile, the company saw diluted earnings per share of $0.27.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Those represented declines of 71% and 40%, respectively, according to the earnings report.
Tesla’s operating margin posted a 343-basis-point, year-over-year decrease in the first quarter, hitting 2.1%.
In its outlook, the company said it was "difficult to measure the impact of shifting global trade policy on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure and demand for durable goods and related services."
"While we are making prudent investments that will set up both our vehicle and energy businesses for growth, the rate of growth this year will depend on a variety of factors, including the rate of acceleration of our autonomy efforts, production ramp at our factories and the broader macroeconomic environment."
Tesla also said it "remains on track" to start production of new vehicles in the first half of the year. More affordable vehicles are among those plans.
Tesla's current lineup of vehicles includes the Model S, Model 3, Model Y, Model X and Cybertruck. It also produces electric semi-trucks.