Elon Musk left some Tesla employees stunned after he casually asked whether President Donald Trump’s tariff plans were affecting the electric car company months after Trump already started announcing them.
The detail about Musk’s lack of curiosity surfaced in report from The New York Times examining Musk’s return to focusing on his companies after scaling back his role in Washington with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Concerns have mounted over the damage caused by Musk’s absence from Tesla, as well as his other companies such as SpaceX and social media platform X, and whether he still has the same enthusiasm to lead them now that he’s stepped away from the White House.
According to the Times, Musk’s “level of disengagement” from Tesla in particular became glaringly obvious in April when he made an appearance at the company’s Palo Alto, California, office ahead of an earnings call. It was one of the rare times he had been on-site at any Tesla office or factory since Trump’s inauguration in January.
While visiting, Musk reportedly asked whether Trump’s tariffs were hurting Tesla and if the company’s supply chain was vulnerable, according to unnamed sources.
Trump warned that he would impose “reciprocal tariffs” on countries from February, two months prior to Musk’s visit to the Tesla office.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
Musk appeared to acknowledge the impact of Trump’s tariffs in a recent CBS News interview, telling anchor David Pogue, “Tariffs always affect things a little bit.”
Beyond tariffs, Tesla has faced mass boycotts and protests since Musk became an alleged-drug fueled member of Trump’s inner circle. Much of the backlash was sparked by Musk allegedly giving a Nazi salute on stage during a January event celebrating Trump’s inauguration.
Musk also seemed less engaged in Tesla’s day-to-day operations during his time at DOGE, often dialing in to key meetings rather than attending them in person.
One source told The Times that a Tesla board member had occasionally been roped in to do Musk’s job in his absence.
Speculation remains about how focused Musk will be on his companies now that he’s stepped down from his “special government employee” role at DOGE at the end of May.
“Elon is really not leaving,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “He’s going to be back and forth. I think I have a feeling it’s his baby, and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
