Analyst: Brand damage from DOGE could create “15%-20% permanent demand destruction” at Tesla
Elon Musk has got to go... back to Tesla full time and leave the government, says Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. That means stepping back from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency before the dents done to Musk’s electric car company become a full-on wreck.
“...if Musk leaves the White House there will be permanent brand damage... but Tesla will have its most important asset and strategic thinker back as full time CEO to drive the vision and the long term story will not be altered,” the Tesla bull wrote in a note Sunday, ahead of the EV company’s earnings call this week. “IF Musk chooses to stay with the Trump White House it could change the future of Tesla/brand damage will grow.”
Already, Ives blames Musk’s role at DOGE for making Tesla a “political symbol globally of the Trump Administration/DOGE,” which has played a role in crushing the stock and causing a “terrible 1Q delivery number with much lower 2025 deliveries on the horizon,” potentially creating “15%-20% permanent demand destruction for future Tesla buyers.”
Don’t believe him? Check out these satellite images with rows and rows of the giant stainless steel Cybertrucks languishing outside their factory in Texas.