CEO Elon Musk’s polarizing role in the Trump administration and strong competition add to the electric-vehicle maker's troubles

Musk's role at the White House set off worldwide protests at Tesla dealerships. Tesla's profits fell 71% over the first three months of this year, a company earnings release on Tuesday showed. The company's performance fell short of analysts' expectations.

Elon Musk says he’ll be spending less time in Washington slashing government costs and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Musk said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that “now that the major work of establishing Department of Government Efficiency is done,