Amid nationwide protests and boycotts, and some destructive attacks on Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk is vowing to cut back on his financial contributions in politics.
"I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk told the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday.
"I think I've done enough."
But the door is not fully closed.
"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it," Musk said. "I don't currently see a reason."
Musk has not only been inspired by President Donald Trump's defiantly rising from being shot July 13 at the start of the general election campaign, but also he had vowed to support Republicans and the GOP agenda in the past election and future ones.
Now, the leftist campaigns to boycott and even destroy Teslas and their facilities have ostensibly forced Musk out of the political arena, cutting his millions to Republicans that Democrats have been vocal about stopping.
While Musk's reported $250 million to back Trump and his allies were effective in the November general election, his financial support through more than $21 million to America PAC and Rebuilding America's Future in the ensuing Wisconsin Supreme Court race earlier this year fell short in getting his preferred candidate elected.
Musk confirmed he has reduced his role as the unofficial head of the administration's Department of Government Efficiency, working there now just two days a week.
Musk has been the chief of DOGE, which has also faced opposition from Democrats.
Musk's has spent less time on DOGE as he has spent more of his time on his businesses that include Tesla, X, and SpaceX.
Tesla, which is the major source of Musk's wealth, has suffered significant brand damage due to his political work, particularly with Trump.
He has also expressed support for the Alternative for Germany party in Germany, which the German government had denounced and sanctioned for devaluing segments of the population, according to the BfV domestic intelligence agency, as reported by Reuters.
Since Trump took office, Tesla dealerships have become scenes of protest and vandalism in the United States and beyond.
When asked if he was worried about the effects of his political positions on sales at the electric carmaker, Musk hit back to say the company was doing fine.
Aside from a sales decline in Europe, "we're strong everywhere else," Musk said.
He pointed to the performance of Tesla's shares on Wall Street as a sign the company was on good footing.
"We're now back over a trillion dollars in market cap, so clearly, the market is aware of the situation, so [Tesla] is already turned around," he said.
Information from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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