Elon Musk should step down as CEO of Tesla or give up his other jobs, stated Tesla investor Ross Gerber. The suggestion came after Tesla stocks saw a decline of 36% in the first three months of 2025, the sharpest decrease since 2022 and the third-largest drop for a quarter in history.

Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, says backlash for his involvement in the Trump administration cutting spending and jobs is hurting the stock price of Tesla, his public company.

There is some reason for optimism, but the risk of bad news coming also exists. Some of the latter is already priced into the stock, though. Tesla shares have plunged by about 32% year to date. That's after the stock jumped 6.2% as of 11:55 a.m. ET today.

A woman holds up a sign as people protest in front of a Tesla dealership as part of a coordinated international day of "Tesla Takedown" protests on March 29, 2025, in Miami. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell Tesla's stock price at market close on December 31,

It was a historically difficult quarter for the EV maker, with tariffs and growing protests over Elon Musk's work with DOGE weighing on sentiment.