Measured from Trump's inauguration on 20 January, the 130-day limit - assuming Musk, who brags about working weekends, clocks roughly five days a week at Doge - would run out toward the end of May. But scaling back would extend that timeframe. Additionally, the 130-day limit would reset in January 2026.

Even the perma-bull crowd of analysts covering Tesla warned of sorely disappointing results in Q1, a view signaled by the poor deliveries for the quarter reported in early April. But the numbers released after the market close on April 22 were much,