Elon Musk's return drives Tesla stock surge in May

Tesla shares soared nearly 22% in May, the best month since November 2024, as investors welcomed CEO Elon Musk back with open arms after a few rocky months running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

For investors, his tenure was painful as Musk’s focus was met with public backlash and personal attacks on individual Tesla car owners. 

"Elon's role in the Trump Administration and DOGE created brand damage and a black cloud over the story," wrote Wedbush Analyst Dan Ives in a note to clients on Friday. Tesla shares sank to a low of around $222 per share in March, before regaining momentum in late April. The stock is still down over 14% for 2025 and off from its all-time high of $479.86 reached in December 2024, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR ELON MUSK AFTER DOGE EXIT

"We believe that there was 20% overhang on the stock tied to Musk in the White House which is now alleviated as Musk departs the 202 area code during one of the most important technology period for Tesla," Ives added. His price target on the shares is $500, which implies a 44% rise from Friday’s $346.46 closing price. 

"Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on 𝕏/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out," Musk posted on X on May 24. 

MUSK CONFIDENT DOGE CAN STILL SAVE $1 TRILLION

Tesla’s highly anticipated robotaxi rollout is set for June 12. 

"For the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents. A month ahead of schedule. Next month, first self-delivery from factory to customer" Musk shared on X. 

While the hype is there, Constellation Research founder Ray Wang tells FOX Business it’s early days. 

"I am excited there is going to be some competition in the robotaxi market. You have Waymo in a lot of places, you got Zoosks in Las Vegas and now, of course, Tesla is coming into Austin and parts of Texas as well," he told Stuart Varney. "He is going to start with 10 and then move to 1,000 is what he is predicting, but as you know he tends to predict early and predict big numbers that don’t always show up timely." 

Musk’s stint running DOGE officially concluded on Friday, and President Donald Trump thanked the world’s richest man for his service as he returns to running his business empire, which includes SpaceX, Starlink, X, The Boring Company and, of course, Tesla. 

TRUMP PRAISES ELON MUSK AND HIS BUSINESS EMPIRE

"Elon's service to America has been without comparison in modern history. He's already running one of the most innovative car companies in the world. If you look at his factories and compare them with some of the old factories we have, and it's a big difference." Trump said from the Oval Office. 

Musk told Bloomberg in May he plans to helm Tesla for the next five years.