(CNN) — Tesla revenue and earnings plunged in the first quarter and it warned that the escalating trade war muddied the company’s outlook for the rest of this year. This comes as analysts blame CEO Elon Musk’s high profile ties to President Donald Trump’s administration for hurting the brand’s reputation.

But Musk defended his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that it was necessary to cut back on “waste and fraud.” But he also revealed that he would scale back his efforts at DOGE to a day or two a week starting sometime in May.

And he urged investors to “look beyond the bumps and potholes immediately ahead of us.”

While Tesla is less exposed to tariffs than most other automakers, it said it would have to revisit its guidance because of current trade disputes.

“It is difficult to measure the impacts of shifting global trade policy on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure and demand for durable goods and related services,” the company said.

Musk did not specifically blame Trump for the uncertainty about trade policy, although he did try to put some distance between himself and the administration on that issue.

“The tariff decision is entirely up to the President of the United States,” he said. “I will weigh in with my advice. I’ve been on the record many times saying lower tariffs are a good idea for prosperity. I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs. That’s all I can do.”

The automaker reported its revenue fell 9%, with auto revenue falling 20%. Adjusted income tumbled 39%. Those drops were bigger than forecast. It’s net income, the strictest definition of its profitability, plunged 71% compared to a year earlier.

Tesla warned investors in early April that it had suffered its biggest drop in sales in its history during the first quarter, delivering 50,000 fewer vehicles compared to the first three months of last year. The sales plunge meant that Tesla recorded its lowest sales in nearly three years.

The decline is stunning for a company that until recently was reporting year-over-year sales growth of between 20% and 100% virtually every quarter, which was largely responsible for its lofty stock price that made it worth more than any other automaker in the world.

Analysts lay much of the blame for the biggest sales drop in company history on Musk’s controversial role in the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has resulted in protests outside Tesla showrooms and vandalism at its facilities. There has also been a sharp drop in sales in Europe, where Musk has also become politically active, supporting far-right political parties in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Beyond the data in Tuesday’s quarterly financial report, analysts and investors are eagerly waiting to hear Musk’s comments on what he sees as responsible for the drop in sales, if he plans to leave the DOGE and return to more day-to-day oversight of Tesla, and details about what tariffs will mean to the company going forward.

Trump slapped tariffs on auto imports on April 3 and promised to put additional ones on parts in the coming months. Tesla makes the cars it sells in the United States at American plants, so it is less exposed to tariffs on imported cars than other major automakers, which all import some vehicles from Mexico and other countries. But it does import parts for the cars it builds at its US factories.

While Tesla also uses more American content than other automakers, Musk has previously warned that said that the cost to Tesla will be “not trivial.”

“Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant,” he said on his social media platform, X, the day after Trump’s auto tariff plans were announced.

While Tesla (TSLA) shares nearly doubled between election day and a record high in mid-December on hopes that the incoming administration would implement Tesla-friendly policies, the stock has lost all of that post-election gain, falling 50% from its high to the close of trading Tuesday.

But shares were only marginally lower on the report and the uncertain guidance, as the company reaffirmed that it still plans to come out with “more affordable models” by the end of June. It also said it that its driverless “robotaxi” will be released by next year. The company has promised it won’t have a steering wheel or accelerator or brake pedals, and that an initial service with for driverless rides will start later this spring.

Tesla, however, has been promising both of those products for years and has yet to deliver them. It also did not give any details on the more affordable model that is supposedly close to production.

Tesla problems aren’t all due to delayed products, trade and pushback on Musk’s role in the Trump administration. It also faces increased competition from other automakers’ EV offerings, including those in China. Chinese automaker BYD , for example, has pulled ahead of Tesla in EV sales for a number of quarters in recent years, including the first quarter of this year, although Tesla has always maintained the lead in full-year sales. But Tesla is poised to lose that title in 2025 given current sales trends.

China is the largest market for EVs and Tesla’s second largest market after the United States. The sales in China were not broken out in Tuesday’s earnings report.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

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