Next Story
Newszop

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's one sentence on DOGE makes him richer by $8 billion

Send Push
Tesla CEO Elon Musk ’s net worth increased by $7.5 billion on April 23, after the tech billionaire recommitted to dedicating more time to the company. Speaking at Tesla’s first quarter earnings call, Musk said that his time with the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) will drop ‘significantly’ next month. He said “Starting next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly” to a day or two per week. “I'll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the President would like me to do so,” Musk said during Tesla’s earnings call.


Following the announcement, Tesla shares soared by 5% to $251. According to Forbes, the tech billionaire’s total net worth rose to $369.2 billion after the Tuesday Q1 report.



Tesla shares have dropped by over 40% this year. Musk, a close confidante of President Donald Trump, is leading the DOGE task force to cut government expenses. His involvement in the Trump administration has concerned investors who criticised Musk for ‘divided attention’.


Elon Musk criticizes Trump’s tariffs

The company’s shares have also been hit by Trump’s tariffs announced earlier this month. Though the CEO described Tesla as the “least affected car company”, Musk reinstated his disagreement with the tariffs at the earnings. He said “I've been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity”, adding the tariff “decision is fundamentally up to” Trump.


“So I'll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs, but that's all I can do,” Musk said.


During the earnings, Musk also addressed Tesla protests. The tech billionaire said “The protests that you’ll see out there, they’re very organized. He further claimed that some of these protesters are likely protesting “because they’re receiving fraudulent money” or are “recipients of wasteful largesse.” However, he did not share any evidence in support of his statement.

Loving Newspoint? Download the app now