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.

For Tesla, the quarterly financial consequences of Musk’s decision to wield the hatchet for Trump’s attack on federal jobs, public programs and civil society couldn’t be clearer. In the longer run, Tesla faces big-world challenges,