What Elon Musk said on Trump Tariffs in Tesla earnings call

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to lobby the US President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce its tariff regime. The tech billionaire made this announcement during the company's recent earnings call on April 22. Despite assembling vehicles in the US, Tesla imports parts from other countries, making it vulnerable to tariffs. The announcement was made alongside the release of Tesla's quarterly earnings. The earnings report showed a 15% year-over-year drop in gross profit. The electric car maker’s automotive revenue fell 20% year-over-year, while its net income decreased by 71% year-over-year, the company noted at the earnings call.
What Musk said about Trump tariffs at Tesla’s earnings call
Talking about Trump’s tariffs at Tesla’s recent earnings call, the company‘s CEO said: “I've been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity, but this decision is fundamentally up to ... the president of the United States. I'll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs, but that's all I can do.”
Meanwhile, during its investor presentation, the company added: “It is difficult to measure the impacts of shifting global trade policy on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure and demand for durable goods and related services.”

Apart from this, Musk also said that he would be devoting more attention to Tesla, pointing out that “changing political sentiment” could influence product demand in the near term.
"My time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly. I think 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, and as long as it is useful,” Musk said.
Earlier reports claimed that Trump told his Cabinet that Elon Musk would soon return to the private sector, though the timing, relative to his 130-day special government employee term, remained unclear. Later on, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to the social media platform X (earlier Twitter) to confirm that Musk would leave public service “when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”