Measured from Trump's inauguration on 20 January, the 130-day limit - assuming Musk, who brags about working weekends, clocks roughly five days a week at Doge - would run out toward the end of May. But scaling back would extend that timeframe. Additionally, the 130-day limit would reset in January 2026.

During an April 22 earnings call for Tesla, Elon Musk announced that he would reduce his hours with DOGE, starting next month, to focus on his role as Tesla's CEO. This announcement came a week after the White House press secretary fired back at claims on X, formerly Twitter, that Musk was leaving his position in the coming weeks.

Even the perma-bull crowd of analysts covering Tesla warned of sorely disappointing results in Q1, a view signaled by the poor deliveries for the quarter reported in early April. But the numbers released after the market close on April 22 were much,