Elon Musk urged to quit DOGE as analyst issues warning for Tesla

Elon Musk has been urged to quit DOGE as an analyst issued a warning ahead of Tesla reporting its first quarter earnings on Tuesday (April 22).

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives sounded an alarm bell for the company, amid ongoing backlash against Musk impacting the electric car company.

It comes as activists have been protesting against federal workforce cuts and the cancellation of contracts funding humanitarian programmes across the globe. President Donald Trump publicly supported Musk and Tesla by promoting the car brand with an odd photo-op outside the White House last month. He also threatened to deport Tesla "terrorists" to El Salvador for vandalising the brand's cars.

Writing in a report to clients on Sunday [viaFortune], analyst Ives sounded an alarm bell for Tesla by saying: “Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time.

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“Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla….and anyone that thinks the brand damage Musk has inflicted is not a real thing….spend some time speaking to car buyers in the US, Europe, and Asia…you will think differently after those discussions.”

Tesla shares have fallen 43 per cent since January 17. Ives continued by writing: “Tesla has unfortunately become a political symbol globally of the Trump Administration/DOGE.”

Tesla faces “potentially 15 per cent -20 per cent permanent demand destruction for future Tesla buyers due to the brand damage Musk has created with DOGE,” Ives wrote.

Meanwhile, recent polls have revealed that US President Donald Trump and his senior advisor, Musk, are not doing well when it comes to popularity.

Since returning to the White House three months ago, an Amherst poll from the University of Massachusetts has found that a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's job performance.

With approval ratings, 44 per cent approve while 51 per cent disapprove of the job Trump is doing so far.

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