When President Donald Trump thanked Elon Musk for his service to Doge, he also emphasized that he described him as his successful business empire.
Tesla stocks surged nearly 22% in May, the highest month since November 2024.
For investors, his tenure was painful as Musk’s focus was filled with public backlash and personal attacks on individual Tesla car owners.
“Elon’s role in the Trump administration and the Doge created brand damage and black cloud on the story,” wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note to clients on Friday. Tesla shares sank to a low of about $222 per share in March before regaining momentum in late April. As tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group, stocks exceeded 14% in 2025, down from the all-time high of $479.86, reaching December 2024.
What’s next for Elon Musk after the Doge exit?
“We believe there was a 20% overhang in the inventory tied to the White House musk, which is being eased as masks leave the 202 area code in one of Tesla’s most important technical periods,” Ives added. His price target for the stock is $500, meaning it’s up 44% from the closing price of $346.46 on Friday.
“I’m going back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in meeting/servers/factory rooms. I have to be very focused on 𝕏/Xai and Tesla (the launch of Plus Starship), as important technology is deployed,” Musk posted on X on May 24th.
Tesla’s Robotaxi will be seen at the unveiling event, which will take place in Los Angeles on October 10th, 2024. (Reuters/Tesla via Reuters/Distribution materials)
Musk Confident Doge can still save $1 trillion
Tesla’s highly anticipated Robotaxi rollout is set for June 12th.
“For the past few days, Tesla has been testing self-driving model Y (no one in the driver’s seat) on public roads in Austin. No incident. A month before schedule. First self-communication from the factory to customers next month,” Musk shares on X.
While the hype is there, Ray Wang, founder of Constellation’s research, tells Fox Business that it was an early age.
“We’re excited to see competition in the Robotaxi market. There are Waymos in many places and we’ve got Zoosks in Las Vegas. Of course, Tesla is also coming to parts of Texas,” he told Stuart Varney. “He’s what he expects to start at 10 and move to 1,000, but as you know, he tends to predict early and predict big numbers that don’t always show up in a timely manner.”
Elon Musk, a senior White House adviser, is walking to the White House after landing the Marines on the South Lawn of Washington, D.C. on March 9th. (Samuel Column/Getty Images)
The Mask Running Run officially concluded on Friday, with President Donald Trump thanking him for serving the world’s wealthiest man when he returned to running Business Empire, which includes SpaceX, Starlink, X, The Boring Company and of course Tesla.
Trump praises Elon Musk and his business empire
President Donald Trump was joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and son X Musk when he signed his signature at the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC on February 11th. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“Eron’s service to America has not been compared to modern history. He already runs one of the most innovative automotive companies in the world. Looking at his factory, comparing it to some of the old factories we have, it’s a huge difference,” Trump said from an oval office.
Musk told Bloomberg in May that he plans to direct Tesla for the next five years.
