Rapid unscheduled disassembly
By 
The day after Elon Musk suffered a beautifully humiliating political defeat, the news about his primary source of wealth is similar, and apparently Trump is beginning to understand that he’s a liability:
Deliveries of Elon Musk’s Tesla vehicles dropped about 13% compared to a year ago, according to a new release from the company. The decline comes amid criticism of Musk and increased competition.
On Wednesday, Tesla reported it produced over 362,000 vehicles and delivered over 336,000 in the first quarter of 2025. That performance marked a decline compared to the same period one year ago, when Tesla produced over 433,000 vehicles and delivered about 387,000.
Tesla stock fell nearly 3% in early trading on Wednesday following the news of the decline in deliveries. But the stock reversed those losses after reports that President Donald Trump told advisers that Musk may leave his White House role.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Tesla shares were up about 5%.
The company has faced fierce backlash — including violence and vandalism against its cars and dealerships– as Musk, the company’s CEO, works in Washington alongside Donald Trump to slash the federal government.
If I may be permitted to question the wisdom of the market that massively overvalued Tesla in the first place, even if Musk does actually leave his current job as CEO of the United States, I don’t think the damage with Tesla’s core customer base can be undone — the gutting of critical government functions has already been done, and will be using his social media site to remind people about his unpopular reactionary views while amplifying those of others. And certainly people involved in #TeslaTakedown shouldn’t back off:
Musk cannot take the heat. He has not just the taste and sensibilities of a boy, but the temperament of one. He throws a fit when things don’t go his way. He wilts. This is someone who can be beat. In another context you might call this terminal inability to take a punch a “glass jaw.” The term “keyboard warrior” comes to mind. But I can think of another word for something that’s so ostentatious and in-your-face except for when it needs to be—a symbol of decadence and insecurity and deregulation that boasts bulletproof toughness, but which breaks into pieces at the first sign of stress.
Elon’s not unstoppable, Wisconsin voters showed on Tuesday. When the rubber hits the road, he’s nothing but a Cybertruck.
And in Wisconsin, they suffered a crushing defeat in a record-breakingly expensive Supreme Court race. After Musk’s money and personality dominated the contest, liberal Judge Susan Crawford secured a 9-point victory against Trump’s endorsed candidate, Brad Schimel.
“I’m honestly shocked. I thought we had it in the bag,” said Pam Van Handel, chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s Outagamie County. “I thought [Musk] was going to be an asset for this race. People love Trump, but maybe they don’t love everybody he supports. Maybe I have blinders on.”
Maybe!