Elon Musk may have stretched himself too thin.
The Tesla CEO and head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow that he’s found it hard to run his businesses and the hack-and-slash oversight agency during an interview on Monday.
“I just don’t want America to go bankrupt,” Musk shared, as the price of a share of his electric vehicle company continued to plummet.
Tesla’s stock price has fallen by more than 35% in the last month. A single share of Tesla fell by more than $40 a share on Monday, plummeting along with the rest of the stock market after President Donald Trump raised fears of a recession.
Former Trump admin official Kudlow pressed Musk on how he’s coping with an increasingly busy schedule, asking how he’s handling the required time away from running his companies.
“You have given up your other stuff,” Kudlow said. “How are you running your other businesses?”
“With great difficulty,” Musk admitted.
A wealth manager who spoke with Salon earlier this month said the company’s image lives and dies with Musk. His brand-toxic association with Trump has led to flagging sales and seemingly fueled Tesla’s recent woes in the stock market.
“Companies spend billions of dollars a year on marketing, which Tesla doesn’t do: The fundamental strategy of Tesla was that Elon was so likable,” Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management CEO Ross Gerber told Salon. “But when you’re driving up with Trump to meet with Putin, it’s the worst advertising — and that’s the problem.”
Gerber’s firm sold $60 million of Tesla stock in late 2024, fearing that Musk’s continued association with Trump would stain his electric vehicle company. The most recent downturn in Tesla stock comes as activists have taken to protesting Tesla dealerships across the United States. In a notable example of the stink associated with Musk, a fleet of Cybertrucks taking part in a Carnival season parade in New Orleans were forced to abandon the parade route after being booed and pelted with beads.
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