1 key reason Musk’s DOGE exit won’t save Tesla brand

For a guy who seems to believe everyone on the political left is a weak, woke snowflake cowering in their safe spaces, Elon Musk sure sounded emotional when he revealed this week that Tesla’s net income had dropped a shocking 71% in the latest quarter.

While announcing that he would soon drastically dial back his contributions to the government-gutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk also dismissed the widespread protests that helped torch his company’s earnings as the work of “very organized” groups that are “receiving fraudulent money” or are “recipients of wasteful largesse” … whatever that means.

Earlier in the week, the Washington Post had reported that Musk was planning to leave his government post due to “a litany of vicious and unethical attacks from the left.”

Ironic, given the petty and childish name-calling Musk regularly doles out on his Twitter account, but I digress.

Tesla investors were no doubt cheering at the news, and the stock did pop as a result.

Still, it’s down around 40% in the last three months alone, and according to one marketing expert, the stomach-churning ride won’t end just because Musk is starting to decouple from U.S. President Donald Trump’s own toxic brand.

Here’s what Sue Benson, CEO and founder of The Behaviours Agency told Reuters this week: