Before Tesla Q1 Earnings, Wedbush: Musk's DOGE Role Could Make or Break Tesla

TradingKey - Ahead of Tesla's Q1 2025 earnings report, Dan Ives, a "longtime Tesla bull" and analyst at Wedbush, has issued another warning. He stated that Elon Musk’s political role in the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is damaging Tesla's brand, and whether Musk stays or leaves the White House could be a turning point for Tesla’s fate.

On Sunday, April 20, Dan Ives released a report stating that Musk needs to leave DOGE and return as Tesla’s full-time CEO. He emphasized, “Tesla is Musk, and Musk is Tesla.”

Two weeks ago, citing public dissatisfaction with Tesla’s political role in the White House and Trump’s tariff policies, Ives slashed Tesla’s stock price target by over 40%. Ives specifically noted that Tesla could get caught in the crossfire of Trump’s strong opposition to tariffs on China — in 2024, revenue from China accounted for more than 20% of Tesla’s total revenue.

This year, Musk has aggressively pushed for cuts in federal government spending through his DOGE initiatives, even meddling in European politics, sparking backlash among citizens in Europe and the U.S. According to the latest data from Statista, Tesla’s sales in several key European markets plummeted by half in Q1, including in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.

Ives believes Tesla is now at a "fork in the road time": If Musk leaves the White House, the damage to Tesla’s brand image may become permanent. However, the return of Musk, Tesla’s most important asset and strategic thinker, could reignite Tesla’s vision and maintain its long-term growth prospects.

Ives reiterated his bullish stance on Tesla, calling it one of the most disruptive tech companies globally for the coming years. However, he warned that if Musk remains obsessed with his DOGE role, Tesla could see a permanent reduction in buyer demand of 15% to 20%.

Tesla is set to release its Q1 2025 earnings report after the U.S. market closes on April 22. Analysts expect Tesla’s Q1 revenue to increase by 2% year-over-year to 21.82 billion, with earnings per share projected at 0.46.

Tesla’s stock is currently trading at $240.89, down 40% year-to-date, compared to a 10% decline in the S&P 500 index over the same period.