Elon Musk departs from White House to face personal companies’ troubles

Elon Musk's tenure in the Trump administration has officially ended, marked by a joint news conference in the Oval Office where he and President Trump defended the progress made with Doge and pledged that the initiative would continue without Musk.

Despite Trump hinting that Musk will “come back and forth” to the White House, his departure comes 130 days after Trump’s return to office, the maximum time allowed under Musk’s “special government employee” designation. Musk faced mounting criticism for his involvement with Doge, especially after sweeping layoffs across federal agencies. At the same time, his private companies have come under intense scrutiny, both due to Musk’s divided attention, as perceived by shareholders, as well as damages obtained of these entities public image due to their CEO’s political affiliation.

Tesla

Tesla’s profits plunged 71% in the first quarter of the year, a drop that coincided with Chinese rival BYD overtaking it as the world’s top electric car seller. As an article by AP puts it, the critical question will now be whether Musk’s exit from Washington will help restore consumer trust and revive Tesla’s profitability. The publication warns that this task won’t be easy as Tesla’s vehicle lineup is aging. and foreign competitors are advancing rapidly, and market share losses seem inevitable even under ideal conditions.

Contributing to the company’s struggles are factory shutdowns to retool the best-selling Model Y and other temporary production issues. Yet some analysts believe the political fallout from Musk’s Washington stint is doing the most damage. JP Morgan warned of “unprecedented brand damage” as cited in the article while Wedbush Securities declared it a “full-blown crisis.” A group of smaller investors has reportedly urged Tesla’s board in a formal letter to require Musk to devote at least 40 hours per week to repairing Tesla’s “plummeting global reputation.”

Looking forward, Musk faces another major test: the rollout of Tesla’s first fully autonomous taxis. After more than a decade of promises, he aims to launch robotaxis next month, starting with 10 to 20 units in Austin, Texas, and scaling to hundreds of thousands by the end of 2026. “Can you go to sleep in our cars and wake up at your destination?” he asked investors during a recent call. The promise boosted Tesla’s stock by 50%, reflecting investor optimism. Still, formidable obstacles remain—technical reliability, public safety, and regulatory approval. Even if the Austin trial is flawless, competition looms: Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous taxi division, recently celebrated its ten-millionth ride and operates in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Advertising debacle on X

Beyond Tesla, Musk’s other ventures are navigating mixed fortunes. After acquiring Twitter in 2022 and restoring access to controversial users like Trump in the name of “free speech,” the platform—now renamed X—saw a mass exodus of advertisers following polarizing content that was allowed on X. The crisis escalated when Musk threatened to “name and shame” companies that were leaving and took legal action against some. Recently, advertisers have trickled back, though not necessarily out of enthusiasm. “Some big brands resumed spending on X in part to curry favour with the Trump administration or to avoid potential retaliation by Musk,” said eMarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg. “But fear is not a sustainable motivator.” She expects some rebound in ad revenue this year, though still below pre-Musk levels.

Bloomberg, citing data from Emarketer, reported that X is projected to generate $1.31 billion in US advertising sales this year, marking a 17.5% growth from the year prior. Global ad buys are up, too, with X expected to do $2.26 billion in revenue in 2025—a 16.5% uptick. This is, however, is still below the $4.46 billion in ad revenue the company generated in 2021, the last year in which the social media platform wasn't associated with Musk. The reason for the resurgence of ad sales appears to be tied to Musk’s prominent position in the Trump administration

SpaceX

As for SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, the financial outlook is murky due to its private status. Recent headlines paint a mixed picture. On the downside, the company suffered another Starship explosion over the Indian Ocean this week—its third this year. While Musk remains undeterred, planning more tests soon, the stakes are rising: NASA hopes to use Starship for lunar missions starting next year. On the upside, private investors appear confident. SpaceX’s latest funding rounds have pushed its valuation to $350 billion, a dramatic rise from $210 billion a year ago, signalling continued faith in the company’s long-term potential.

Proximity to administration boosts Starlink

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s satellite internet arm, Starlink, has benefited significantly from Musk’s proximity to political power. It’s unclear how much of its recent international expansion stems from business rationale versus political leverage—an advantage that may diminish with Musk’s departure from Washington. During Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Musk announced the country had approved Starlink for aviation and maritime services. Similar regulatory greenlights have followed in Bangladesh—whose garment industry is under threat from Trump’s proposed tariffs—and in India, Pakistan, and Lesotho. Earlier this month, after a very public Oval Office spat between Trump and South Africa’s president, the country relaxed a rule that had previously hindered Starlink’s entry. Musk had labelled the requirement for partial Black ownership in foreign ventures as “openly racist,” though South African officials deny politics played a role in the decision.

By Nazrin Sadigova