What's next for Elon Musk?
FILE-Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk delivers remarks as he joins President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Elon Musk is leaving Washington, D.C. after a short but turbulent stint in government as a senior adviser and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The billionaire is participating in a news conference with President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon to mark the end of his tenure at the White House.
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While what Musk accomplished during his time as Trump’s adviser is debatable, some of his prominent businesses are going to require his attention.
Here’s where things stand with Musk’s companies.
Where do things stand with Tesla and X?
Dig deeper:
Profits substantially fell 71% at Tesla in the first three months of 2025 after another competitor took the title as the world’s biggest electric car seller, the Associated Press reported.
Tesla's decision to shut down factories as it refurbished its best-selling Model Y, among other temporary problems, contributed to its struggles in the first quarter.
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Separately, Musk may have to work on rebuilding his advertising base, according to the AP. When the billionaire purchased Twitter in 2022 and opened it up to conspiracy theories, long-time advertisers began to leave. Then Musk made the situation worse when he threatened to "name and shame" them, and sued them.
One e-market analyst tells the AP that she anticipates X’s ad business will rebound this year but still be smaller than it was before Musk bought the company.
SpaceX and Starlink
Big picture view:
A problem occurred this week with a spinning explosion of one of SpaceX’s Starship mega rockets over the Indian Ocean. The Associated Press reported that followed explosions of two other Starships earlier this year that sprayed flaming debris across the Caribbean Ocean.
But Musk is pledging several more tests soon. According to the A, NASA hopes to use Starship for future missions to the moon, including one in 2026 that will attempt a lunar orbit and then send the four astronauts aboard back home.
Meanwhile, Starlink, a SpaceX satellite internet subsidiary, has been establishing deals to build in foreign countries. During a trip with President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia in early May, Musk told reporters that the country approved Starlink service for aviation and maritime use. This also followed a decision to give approval for the service by regulators in Bangladesh.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which offers background on companies Elon Musk owns. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.