• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed that he drives a Tesla.
• "Great car," Khosrowshahi said while praising the vehicle's self-driving capabilities.
• As for his company, Khosrowshahi isn't worried about Tesla robotaxis.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Friday that he isn't sweating Elon Musk's robotaxis.

"I don't think that there will be a winner-take-all," Khosrowshahi told Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith during the publication's World Economic Summit in Washington.

"The drama is winner-take-all, but I think that the transportation industry is a trillion-plus-dollar industry," he said. "You could argue that rideshare is going to finally beat personal car ownership in a world where you've got robots driving all over the place, so I think there will be plenty of room in the industry."

Khosrowshahi said Uber would "love to work with" Musk's company. He also revealed that he owns a Tesla.

"Great car," Khosrowshahi said.

Asked if he has tried full self-driving, Khosrowshahi responded, "It is delightful, but I have to take over every once in a while. It is an absolutely great product. Again, the car is a terrific car."

Musk isn't playing as nicely with his competitors in the autonomous taxi space. Earlier this week, Musk took a shot at Waymo during Tesla's Q1 earnings call.

Musk said the problem with Alphabet's robotaxis is that they cost "way mo' money."

Waymo's ex-CEO brushed off the insult.

"Tesla has never competed with Waymo — they've never sold a robotaxi ride to a public rider, but they've sold a lot of cars," John Krafcik said in an email to Business Insider.

Uber and Waymo are partnering on autonomous ride-hailing in Austin and Atlanta. Tesla is aiming to roll out a "pilot" robotaxi service in Austin in June.

• Elon Musk plans to reduce his time on government work to focus more on Tesla.
• Even reducing his time with DOGE could still make it hard to oversee a half dozen companies.
• Investors are often OK with "multi-CEOs" when things go well, but that can change if sales slide.

Even if Elon Musk cuts back his work reshaping the US government, he'll still be a busy guy.

And perhaps he's too busy — and controversial — to run the many companies under his domain as well as he could, leadership observers told Business Insider.

Musk, who said Tuesday he plans to soon reduce his time working on the Department of Government Efficiency, still has half a dozen companies to oversee, including Tesla, X, xAI, and SpaceX.

It adds up to a lot, especially when, like at Tesla, there are challenges like slumping sales.

"It's hard to imagine there's enough time in a week to really give each of those the attention that it needs," Christopher Myers, the faculty director of the Center for Innovative Leadership at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, told BI, referring to Musk's companies.

Myers said that while Musk has long been exceptional in his ability to run multiple entites at once, keeping a hand in DOGE one to two days a week, as Musk suggested he might, means there still won't be all that much time for him to go deep on reviving sales at Tesla, where auto revenues dropped 20% in the first quarter.

Even if Musk devoted all his time outside DOGE to the automaker, doing anything only two to three days a week would be a "minimal investment," Myers said.

Downshifting might not be enough

Another big challenge: Musk's involvement with DOGE is turning off some would-be buyers of Tesla vehicles. That means that simply giving over more time to the company might not be enough to fix its problems, Lorenz Graf-Vlachy, a professor of strategic management and leadership at Germany's TU Dortmund University, told BI.

Investors appeared buoyed by the idea that Musk would spend more time thinking about the company and less on Washington, DC. Tesla shares, which have tumbled in 2025, rose more than 5% on Wednesday.

Graf-Vlachy, who researches leaders who run more than one company — rare breeds he calls "multi-CEOs" — said investors are often OK with chiefs juggling more than one commitment when things are going well.

"As long as everybody's getting rich, nobody asks exactly how that's happening," he said.

But when business goes south, investors' confidence can erode, Graf-Vlachy said.

Even one of Tesla's biggest bulls, who has remained upbeat throughout the company's year of declining sales, said the EV maker faces a "code-red situation" if Musk stays at DOGE.

"Musk needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note on Sunday.

Musk didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday from BI.

Myers said that another challenge for Musk is that he's described himself not as a micromanager but as an even more hands-on "nano-manager."

"It seems hard to nano-manage that many companies across that wide of a range," Myers said.

He said it's possible that Musk's other companies, beyond Tesla, would have to take "more of a back seat" or that others within those organizations would have to further step up if Musk continues to devote even limited time to DOGE.

Myers said it might have been easier to see how a single CEO could simultaneously run two tech-focused entities, like Tesla and SpaceX. Yet the management playbook can get blurry when the scope of a CEO's focus widens. In Musk's case, he's waded into government work and acquired Twitter, which he renamed X.

By having such a diverse portfolio, Myers said, it's possible that Musk has made it harder for employees at his companies to discern a clear sense of mission.

He said a Tesla employee, for example, might worry about the hit that tariffs could have on the company. Musk, who has said he favors free trade, could be put in difficult positions, Myers said.

"Depending on which of his offices is releasing the press release, they're going to take wildly different stances on the role of tariffs," he said, referring to DOGE and the White House's position on tariffs.

"That can be frustrating, confusing, and certainly demotivating for individuals within those organizations," Myers said of Musk's companies.

Multihyphenate CEOs aren't new

Musk isn't the first CEO to face scrutiny for wearing more than one hat. In 2020, shareholders and activist investors questioned whether Jack Dorsey could run Twitter and Block, both public companies, simultaneously.

Yet the Musk universe is far larger, with federal contracts, over a trillion dollars, and thousands of employees at stake.

Jonathan Marshall, an executive coach and former assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, said it is possible to run multiple companies effectively.

"Giving clear direction and having capable people under you whom you trust makes a huge difference. It permits the leader to step back," he said.

Marshall said in the best cases, executives under a busy CEO can step up — but the setup can go wrong, too.

"In one case, I've seen it lead to tremendous inefficiency as the executives felt they couldn't make a decision without the CEO's approval," he said. "But where there has been clear direction from a trusted and competent substitute for the CEO, I've seen it go well."

In 2018, Harvard Business School's then-dean examined how CEOs spend their time, writing that a CEO's calendar "is a manifestation of how the leader leads and sends powerful messages to the rest of the organization."

Non-work activities, he wrote, could represent a distraction, so CEOs should "carefully restrict" their time on community and social engagements.

Graf-Vlachy said that even though Musk has proven himself capable of overseeing several companies, there are limits to how far the multi-CEO can push himself.

"There are only 7 days a week, even for Elon Musk," he said.

• Elon Musk said Optimus production faces challenges due to China's rare-earth export restrictions.
• The Tesla CEO said China wants assurance that the parts won't be used for "military purposes." Musk said they wouldn't be.
• Musk said Tesla plans to solve the issue and produce thousands of Optimus robots by the end of 2025.

Tesla's Optimus production is getting squeezed by President Donald Trump's trade war.

Production of the humanoid robot could face some delays as Tesla deals with challenges, such as convincing China that some of the robot's parts would not be used for military purposes.

Elon Musk said during Tesla's first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday that Optimus production "was affected" by a supply chain issue in China. He said Tesla uses rare-earth magnets sourced from China for the actuators in the robot's arms.

The issue is that China recently started to require an export license for some rare-earth elements. Tesla also said in the earnings call that it's tried to find "alternative sourcing" for rare-earth magnets for years.

"Tesla as a whole does not need to use permanent magnets, but when something is volume constrained, like an arm of the robot, then you wanna try to make the motors as small as possible," Musk said.

The CEO said that the magnets are "just going into a humanoid robot," which is not a weapon system. However, the magnets can be used for a range of purposes, including building military weapons like missiles. Because of that, Musk said China is looking to be convinced that any magnets they supply to Tesla won't find their way into a weaponized system or robot.

"China wants some assurances that these are not used for military purposes, which, obviously, they're not," Musk said.

Beijing recently paused certain rare-earth element exports in response to Trump tariffs, which the President announced would "come down substantially" on Tuesday. In addition to impacting Tesla's Optimus production, the restriction could affect several industries dependent on rare-earth elements, including automakers and semiconductor manufacturers.

Musk said that Tesla is "working through" the supply chain issue with China, and will "hopefully" get a license to use the magnets. He said he's confident that the company will be able to solve the issue and produce thousands of robots by the end of the year. He also said Tesla expects to scale Optimus "faster than any product," and feels confident the automaker will produce a "million units per year" in under five years.

That's mostly in line with previous projections. Musk said during an all-hands employee meeting last month that Tesla will hopefully produce around 5,000 Optimus robots in 2025, and it aims to have enough parts to make 10,000 or 12,000 of the robots.

Musk added during Tuesday's call that "Optimus production will move as fast as the slowest and least lucky component" involved in the product. As a new product, Tesla is dealing with "like 10,000 unique things," as it builds the humanoid robots.

"Anyone who tells you they can predict with precision the production ramp of a truly new product doesn't know what they're talking about," Musk said.

• Elon Musk is set to dial back his work with DOGE in the coming weeks.
• The White House DOGE office's push to pare down the federal workforce will continue.
• DOGE is set to roll out a key visa effort as it also faces litigation over its work.

Elon Musk may be winding down his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, but that doesn't mean the cost-cutting task force will be ending any time soon.

Musk, the chief executive of both Tesla and SpaceX, announced on Tuesday that he'd be reducing his presence at the White House DOGE office down to one or two days a week so he can focus more of his time on Tesla — which during the first quarter of 2025 saw its earnings plunge 71% year over year.

In the three months since President Donald Trump established the initiative, unofficially led by Musk, it has worked quickly to reduce government spending and gut the federal workforce.

In its attempt to fulfill its stated purpose of rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse, DOGE has targeted nearly every federal agency.

But DOGE's work is far from over, and in some ways, it's still just getting started.

DOGE-driven RIFs and agency consolidation will continue to reshape the federal workforce

For weeks, Musk's work with DOGE has generated waves of controversy, with many Americans supportive of reform efforts but less willing to back the task force's more aggressive actions in reorienting government departments and agencies.

DOGE has so far set in motion thousands of layoffs.

As of early April, the White House DOGE office's work has led to over 216,000 firings, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The cuts will likely continue.

The IRS could lose nearly a quarter of its workforce, according to The New York Times. There's ongoing litigation regarding DOGE's moves to shut down the Institute of Peace, whose funding is appropriated by Congress. And thousands of jobs could be cut across the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services this year.

Efforts to overhaul and eliminate offices within the State and Justice departments have also been outlined by the administration, moving them closer to the ideological standards set forth by Trump.

Even though Musk will dial back his presence in Washington, his mission of a smaller government isn't leaving the DOGE office.

DOGE has plenty of fights left in court

The legal challenges against many of DOGE's actions — which make up a chunk of the dozens of lawsuits filed against the Trump administration — are just ramping up.

One lawsuit that's likely to have a major impact on DOGE's future — and could determine just how much transparency DOGE is required to give — was filed by the nonprofit watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in February.

CREW's suit demands that DOGE provide greater transparency into its operations, alleging that DOGE is breaking federal law by not disclosing its records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Last week, the federal judge overseeing the case issued a preliminary injunction granting CREW a partial victory.

Judge Christopher Cooper found that despite DOGE's arguments to the contrary, DOGE acts like a typical government agency and thus is likely subject to federal laws mandating records disclosure. Cooper ordered DOGE to provide CREW with the documents and answers it had requested, including internal emails between DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget.

Cooper also ordered DOGE's official administrator, Amy Gleason, and the leader of DOGE's daily operations, Steven Davis, to provide depositions within 24 days.

A number of other lawsuits have sought to hamstring DOGE's power over the federal bureaucracy.

In another ongoing case, the Center for Taxpayer Rights, along with several other groups, sued the Internal Revenue Service alleging that DOGE had illegally accessed sensitive taxpayer data and systems at the IRS. The outcome of the case could determine just how much authority DOGE has as it seeks to access the personal data of Americans held by federal agencies.

And in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought — which was filed by the union after the administration fired Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees — a temporary injunction is currently in place blocking the administration from disbanding the agency.

DOGE's next big move may be revenue-generation

The White House DOGE Office is currently developing a system where special immigration visas dubbed as "gold cards" will be issued by the US, replacing the EB-5 visa.

The cost for each card? $5 million.

It's part of what the Trump administration has outlined as a way for highly affluent non-US residents to work in the country and gain a pathway to citizenship.

"They'll have to go through vetting, of course, to make sure they're wonderful world-class global citizens," Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, said in February. "The president can give them a green card, and they can invest in America, and we can use that money to reduce our deficit."

The New York Times reported that Musk is working on the software, with the effort being headed by DOGE staffers Marko Elez and Edward Coristine.

Lutnick said the gold card would be unveiled sometime in the coming days.

Its implementation could serve as a lasting legacy of Musk's DOGE tenure.

The White House and DOGE did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• The Telsa Cybertruck is thrilling to many younger kids — it's a cool-looking weird big truck!
• There are even songs and books for kids about Cybertrucks.
• As Elon Musk and his cars become a political symbol, kids are blissfully unaware.

The Cybertruck has become a nexus point of public opinion about Elon Musk and DOGE, a 4-wheeled emblem of our divided country. Cybertrucks are being vandalized, and drivers are being flipped off. Owners who just thought it was a cool car are stuck with making some sort of political statement — whether they wanted to or not.

For kids, it's a different story. Kids love Cybertrucks.

This makes sense. First of all, kids love trucks! For a preschooler, passing by an active construction site is like being a VIP at Coachella.

The Cybertruck is big, it's distinctive. It's rare. Seeing one on the road or even in a parking lot is a head-turner. It looks like it was made in Minecraft or out of Legos. It's absolutely aesthetically thrilling for a demographic that can't yet tie shoes.

"My 6-year-old loves Teslas but has no idea who Musk is, and that's intentional," said Mandy Shobar, a parent of two boys in Castro Valley, California. Shobar herself is not a fan of Telsa's CEO for reasons that would make sense to other adults but not a kindergartener. Her older son, 9, is less excited about the Cybertruck. "He says they look 'glitchy.'"

Around the Business Insider office, parents also noted their kids were obsessed with Cybertrucks. My boss's first grader recently brought home a piece of art from school dedicated to the EV.

My own kids get excited when they see a Cybertruck. My son went through a phase when he was around 6 or 7 when he was fascinated by Elon Musk as a character, and even brought home a book from the school library about Teslas. (The book, from 2018, didn't include too much about Musk himself.)

Imagine this through a child's eyes: Elon Musk is the richest man in the world who makes rockets and cool-looking cars. How could you not be intrigued? Kids are obsessed with superlatives: the fastest, the biggest, the most. It's why everyone knows the blue whale is the biggest, and the cheetah is the fastest. Kids talk about Usain Bolt's speed with reverence and compare heights to the Burj Khalifa (which, to be honest, I only learned is the world's tallest building from my own kid).

Elon Musk is becoming less popular with adults

Meanwhile, the idea that Musk is controversial because of his political opinions and role in DOGE is not really something that is easily explained to a small child.

It wasn't too many years ago that Musk seemed like an unproblematic aspirational STEM figure for young kids. But with his involvement in the 2024 election and now DOGE, the public's perception of Musk has changed. According to Nate Silver's The Silver Bulletin, Musk's favorability polling switched from positive to negative last summer, and he's now less popular than ever — with 53.5% "unfavorable" ratings.

Tom Cook (no relation to Tim) isn't some Telsa hater — he previously owned a Model 3. He thinks the Cybertruck, however, is aesthetically unpleasing. "There are some technical aspects of it that are good (electrical components where Tesla does good engineering), but the nexus of cost/practicality/looks/association with [Musk] make it just impossible to ever take seriously," Cook told Business Insider.

Still, he was surprised when his 3-year-old daughter made a piece of Cybertruck art.

There exists a world of Cybertruck paraphrenia for kids. Mattel's Hot Wheels makes a classic pocket-sized Cybertruck (my kids have one) and a larger die-cast light-up Cybertruck for about $20.

On Amazon and other online stores, you can find a variety of other remote-controlled Cybertruck-shaped toys from various no-name brands. (It is unclear if some of these actually have licensing deals with Tesla as Mattel does.)

Tesla sells a $1,500 battery-operated ride-on Cybertruck for kids, similar to Power Wheels. It can fit two kids, suggested age range of 6 to 12. Telsa also makes a "Cyberquad" for kids ages 9 to 12, which is an ATV-style ride-on toy, selling for $1,650.

There's even a world of media about Cybertrucks for kids. One person told me her 5-year-old truck-loving kid has discovered a song on YouTube Kids he plays on repeat. (I dare anyone to try to not tap your toes to this banger.)

There are non-fiction books for kids about the Cybertruck, not unlike the one on Telsa my son once brought home.

There's also a picture book, The Ugly Truckling: The Story of My Cybertruck." The Amazon summary reads:

When a dad brings home a Cybertruck, his daughter is less than impressed. With its unconventional and futuristic appearance, the truck seems like an ugly duckling in a world of familiar cars. But as the little girl begins to learn more about the Cybertruck's capabilities and its potential to help the world, she begins to see it in a whole new light.

For the parents who find the Cybertruck to be a totem of something they disagree with politically, it may be slightly jarring to see their kids squeal with glee when they see one cruising down the street.

But there are lots of things that kids love that can make parents cringe: room-temperature apple juice, "Baby Shark," the idea that being asked to put on shoes and coat in a timely manner is an affront to human dignity.

None of the parents I heard from who don't always share the same opinions about the Cybertruck put too much worry into it. To them, it was an amusing passing phase that reminded them of the vast gulf between how a child sees the world and how we see it.

Admittedly, I spend a lot of my day thinking about Elon Musk, and I wish I could have the free wonder to see a cool-looking car and just go, "Wow!"

• Elon Musk recently streamed multiple gaming sessions from his private jet while testing Starlink.
• Gaming with his camera on and reflecting on a "stressful" week, the streams offer a glimpse into how he spends his downtime.
• Musk's gaming has also generated controversy in the community.

It's 2:17 in the morning. Elon Musk is gaming on his private jet.

His webcam is turned on and his face is visible, as is the interior cabin of his private jet, both of which are illuminated by the light from his computer screen as the plane travels through the night sky.

It's a glimpse into how the world's richest man spends his downtime, a look in real time at the late nights he frequently references.

Millions of people tuned in as he played video games for 44 minutes, much of which he spent in silence. The Tesla CEO's gaming livestream in the early hours of April 10 has accumulated 16.7 million views since being posted.

When he did talk, he mentioned turbulence, Starlink, updates to his AI chatbot Grok, the upcoming season of the game "Diablo IV" — and the fact that he'd had a "stressful" week.

"Today was a good day for Tesla," Musk said in the video. "It's been kind of a stressful week frankly. But today was a good day."

The billionaire CEO has been dealing with a lot: feuding with Trump's trade advisor, Peter Navarro, over tariffs, Tesla's declining sales and volatile stock price amid global protests, and his continued work with DOGE.

It's not the first time Musk has posted a livestream video of himself gaming. Usually, the billionaire does so under his gamer-focused handle @cyb3rgam3r420. The sessions sometimes last several hours and show glimpses of Musk taking care of his son, or discussing different topics, like what kind of armor Roman legions wear or whether Tesla would ever make a smartphone.

His most recent livestreams from his private jet, however, also served another purpose: testing out Starlink's "airborne connectivity" and talking up the satellite internet service ahead of some major launches. SpaceX, Musk's space exploration company, has recently signed partnerships to roll out Starlink in a number of airlines including Air France, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines.

The recent gaming session livestreams also provide Musk, who has previously bragged about his gaming skills and achievements, an opportunity to get some street cred back after a YouTuber and gamer, NikoWrex, posted what he said where screenshots of a January conversation he had over DM with Musk. According to the screenshots, Musk talked about "account boosting," or paying other players to level up one's account, because it was "impossible to beat the players in Asia" otherwise — an idea some gamers said they agreed with.

Musk, who at the time reposted NikoWrex's video about the account-boosting conversation, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

But the possibility that Musk was bragging about gaming achievements made while using an account others had been paid to play quickly generated criticism among some high-profile members of the gaming community, including the social media account for the hit game "Assassin's Creed."

While Musk's recent livestreams provided a look into how the CEO decompresses — in one case, during a flight to DC — they likely won't quiet the criticisms of his gaming skills.

Musk repeatedly died while playing "hardcore" mode (in his defense, one of his virtual deaths happened after receiving a "connection lost" message while using Starlink).

He decided to switch things up during his next livestream.

"I'm playing softcore instead of hardcore this time," he said.

• Morgan Stanley posted strong 1Q earnings on Friday, boosted by its equities trading business.
• Earnings also reflected the sale of loans tied to Elon Musk's purchase of X.
• The loans were on the company's books until recently, as Musk's star rose in relation to Trump.

Morgan Stanley's long-time relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk is paying off.

The investment bank on Friday posted net income of $4.3 billion in the first quarter, up 26% over last year, surpassing analysts' forecasts. The bank's $17.7 billion in quarterly revenue was boosted by a 45% increase in its equity trading business, whose revenue soared to a record $4.1 billion amid heightened market volatility.

The bank also saw a jump in "other" revenue in its institutional securities group. That line includes the bank's corporate loan book, which benefited from the sale of loans the bank raised in 2022 to help Musk buy the social media platform now called X, according to a person with knowledge of the company's finances.

Morgan Stanley led a group of seven banks in raising $13 billion in debt for the 2022 buyout.

Bloomberg first reported that the boost in the "other" category was tied to the sale of the X loans.

Morgan Stanley has long been a banker to Musk. The firm's star tech banker, Michael Grimes, recently left Morgan Stanley after 30 years for a role with the Commerce Department, which is headed by Howard Lutnick, who also hails from Wall Street.

Grimes played an important role in helping the Tesla CEO buy X, then called Twitter, in 2022. The deal ended up costing Morgan Stanley and the other lending banks billions in so-called hung loans, or debt that banks are having trouble offloading to investors.

Morgan Stanley and other banks began selling the debt this year amid a brightened financial picture for X, according to a person with knowledge of the sales.

On Friday, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the state of the economy, a stark contrast to comments made earlier on Friday by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

"We have not seen a slowdown," Pick said, referring to market activity since the start of April. "Is it bumpier for some clients? Of course, it is," he said, adding, "But we are still, we'll call it, cautiously optimistic that we won't go into recession, and we will just keep going."

• Used Tesla listings are spiking to new levels as Elon Musk and the brand experience ongoing backlash and protests.
• March saw a record number of Tesla listings on Autotrader, according to data from parent company Cox Automotive.
• Those looking to offload their Teslas face a plunging price point.

The used car market is flooded with Teslas.

March saw a record number of listings for used Teslas on Autotrader, according to data from its parent company, Cox Automotive.

As "Tesla Takedown" protests swept across the country in the final week of March, more than 13,000 used Teslas were up for sale, according to the data. That's up 67% year over year.

The data, which was first reported by Sherwood, comes as more Tesla owners tried to offload their vehicles amid ongoing backlash over Elon Musk's political work with DOGE.

The average price for a used Tesla has declined in recent years, with value plunging more steeply in the wake of Musk's work with the Trump administration. A used Tesla will now fetch you around $10,000 less, on average, than other electric vehicles, according to data from the dealership website CarGurus.

A spokesperson for Cox Automotive told BI over email that the record March listings likely boil down to two main factors

First, "Tesla's rapid growth between 2021 and 2023," the spokesperson said. "With many more Teslas entering the market, we would expect to see the same happening in the used market beginning now."

Second, they added: "We cannot ignore the influence of Elon Musk's new high-profile job as DOGE boss and presidential confidant. That is certainly influencing some owners and buyers."

Earlier in March, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, told BI that Tesla was facing "significant challenges" beyond Musk-related damage to its brand, including fierce competition from rivals and an aging product lineup.

"It's undeniable that Elon Musk is an influential factor whose actions are impacting the brand's image and sales, and only time will tell if Tesla can successfully navigate this critical juncture and find a new engine for growth," Streaty said.

Tesla is readying two major upcoming launches in the coming months. The company said it was on track to begin production of a "more affordable" model by the end of the first half of the year, and it's also planning to launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June.

In the meantime, if you're in the market for a used Tesla, it looks like there's plenty of inventory to choose from.

• COVID-era accommodations are losing ground to more high-pressure work schedules.
• Workplace experts say DOGE has set an example that could impact corporate culture and expectations.
• "A perfect storm" of rising costs and recession fears makes workers more afraid to quit.

If you've noticed an uptick in emails from your boss during weekends, are facing strict return-to-office orders, or are being told to accomplish more with less, economic uncertainty and DOGE could be to blame, according to experts in workplace management.

"I think that the pendulum is swinging toward much less work-life balance and much more constant chronic stress," Dr. Tasha Eurich, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author, told Business Insider.

Eurich said increased chaos in the markets is making it much more difficult not only to get by but also to find a way to thrive at work and in life.

"We know that uncertainty is one of the most aversive states for human beings — it sets off the same parts of our brain as would happen when we are being chased by a tiger when our ancestors were trying to stay alive together," said Eurich.

Eurich pointed to data from the World Uncertainty Index — which tracks worldwide political events — showing that levels of uncertainty about geopolitics and economic situations have been steadily climbing back to early pandemic levels over the past six months.

While ongoing conflicts may have contributed to the level of concern, many workplace experts say that in the US, economic uncertainty and the rise of DOGE could also contribute to feelings of uncertainty, especially since the beginning of 2025, which may cause more to hold on to their desks and accept less desirable conditions.

The DOGE effect

With Elon Musk, Tesla's billionaire CEO, as its face, DOGE brought his controversial "hardcore" management style to the government.

This year, DOGE fired tens of thousands of federal workers via email, citing poor performance. Meta has also been using the same tactic for "low-performers."

In February, DOGE sent a weekend email demanding federal employees justify their jobs with an email detailing five accomplishments by Monday night. Musk then said on social media that non-respondents were considered resigned.

This week, DOGE also used Tesla's badge-scan layoff tactic at the Department of Health and Human Services: if badges worked, jobs were safe; if not, employees were out. Many were left in tears.

Musk himself also said that he works 120-hour weeks and expects similar dedication from his employees, particularly from those hired by DOGE. On X, he called working the weekend "a superpower."

Rahaf Harfoush, a digital anthropologist and future of work expert, told BI that figures like Musk create a dangerous cultural script and embody the myth that if you just work hard enough, you'll succeed. This myth, she says, conveniently leaves out structural advantages like generational wealth, elite networks, and access to opportunity.

"What's left unsaid is this: billionaires can work those hours because their wealth buys them time," said Harfoush. "They have chefs, nannies, drivers, assistants — an entire infrastructure that handles the responsibilities most people can't outsource."

"Because these leaders are idolized, their behavior sets a tone. It becomes a kind of performative workaholism that companies mimic not because it's effective but because it aligns with our deeply held beliefs about what ambition and success should look like," Harfoush added.

'A perfect storm'

While Musk and DOGE push a version of work driven by ambiguous measures of high performance and includes toiling through the weekends, the job market and economic uncertainty make it harder for unhappy workers to find new opportunities.

Businesses large and small are finding themselves in limbo because of Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs on the US and Canada. Workers are becoming more afraid to quit under the concern that there will be a 2008-esque recession.

"We're seeing a perfect storm of factors colliding," said Harfoush. "We're seeing echoes of 2008 — people taking on more work, fewer breaks, and less pay — because survival feels more urgent than balance."

How workers can regain control

However, a workplace driven by fear and an idealized version of productivity won't necessarily deliver results in the long run. Homa Bahrami, a senior lecturer at the Haas School of Business of UC Berkeley, said that while workers may comply in the short run when CEOs put a virtual "gun to their head," such moves would impact goodwill, commitment, and the emotional engagement of the employee.

"Ultimately, if you're working in a place with core values are exactly the opposite of yours as a human being, then it's not sustainable, and you're not going to make it really work," said Bahrami.

Eurich also echoed this sentiment and called laying off workers to set an example the "most counterproductive thing" a company could do.

There are ways for workers to push back and regain some extent of control.

Bahrami said that though burnout can often not be avoided when conditions are adverse, it helps to have a forward-looking mindset, update skills proactively, and set goals for reaching an ideal job.

Harfoush said that even small acts of resistance could go a long way, starting with delaying that first email check until an hour after waking up, taking real lunch breaks, and, for managers, having explicit conversations with their team about response expectations.

"Often, the pressure to be always-on isn't real — it's imagined," said Harfoush. "But it becomes real when no one challenges it."

• The world's top 10 richest people saw $74 billion vanish on paper after Trump's tariffs.
• Trump's tariffs triggered a huge market sell-off.
• Musk lost $11 billion and Bezos nearly $16 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

The world's top 10 richest people saw $74 billion vanish on paper after this week's market rout, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on Wednesday afternoon triggered market chaos. Stocks suffered their worst single-day loss in five years on Thursday. The S&P 500 dropped nearly 5%, the Dow lost 1,679 points, and the Nasdaq composite plunged 6%.

Here's how much the wealthiest have lost since the tariff announcement and how it compares to their net worth, per Bloomberg:

Elon Musk

-$11.0 billion ( -2.5%)

Elon Musk has seen his net worth fluctuate wildly over the past several weeks, as his involvement with the White House DOGE office has drawn public ire and boycotts against Tesla, sending Tesla's stock down.

Musk's wealth largely comes from his stake in Tesla, but he is also the CEO of X/Twitter, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and SpaceX. He's worth $322 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the world's richest person.

Jeff Bezos

-$15.9 billion ( -6.7%)

Bezos is the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, and he is worth $201 billion. He also owns The Washington Post, which he purchased in 2013. Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO in 2021.

Mark Zuckerberg

-$17.9 billion ( -8.6%)

Mark Zuckerberg has been facing criticism over rolling back fact-checking on Meta platforms, including Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, and replacing that with "community notes."

Zuckerberg is the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Meta, putting him at a net worth of $189 billion.

Warren Buffet

-$2.57 billion ( -1.8%)

Warren Buffett, with a net worth of $165 billion, is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate holding company. Through Berkshire, Buffett owns a wide range of businesses, including GEICO, BNSF Railway, and Dairy Queen.

Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding is Apple, which makes up around 20% of its portfolio.

Bernard Arnault

-$6.22 billion ( -3.5%)

Bernard Arnault is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate. The majority of his $163 billion comes from his stake in LVMH, which owns over 75 brands across fashion, cosmetics, jewelry, and spirits, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moët & Chandon.

LVMH has been reporting declining sales under dampened consumer sentiments in multiple countries.

Bill Gates

-$291 million ( -0.2%)

Bill Gates is the cofounder of Microsoft, though he stepped down from the company's board in 2020 and now owns only a small percentage of its shares. Most of his $162 billion in wealth is managed through Cascade Investment, a private firm that holds major stakes in companies like the Four Seasons Hotels.

Gates also runs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropy organization that supports global health, education, and climate initiatives.

Larry Ellison

-$8.10 billion ( -4.2%)

Larry Ellison is the cofounder, executive chairman, and chief technology officer of Oracle, one of the world's largest software and cloud computing companies. With a net worth of $160 billion, Ellison is also a major investor in Tesla and owns a large portion of Lanai, a Hawaiian island.

Ellison, along with OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, are also spearheading Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative supported by Trump.

Larry Page

-$4.79 billion ( -2.9%)

Larry Page is the cofounder of Google and a board member of its parent company, Alphabet. While he stepped down as Alphabet's CEO in 2019, he remains a major shareholder and influential figure, with a net worth of $138 billion.

Page is also a major backer of Kitty Hawk and Opener, companies that are developing electric flying vehicles.

Steve Ballmer

-$2.85 billion ( -1.9%)

Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft, a role he held from 2000 to 2014. He remains one of the company's largest individual shareholders, with a net worth of $131 billion.

Outside Microsoft, Ballmer also owns the Los Angeles Clippers, an NBA team he purchased in 2014 for $2 billion.

Sergey Brin

-$4.46 billion ( -2.8%)

Sergey Brin is the cofounder of Google and played a key role in developing its early search algorithms. He served as president of Alphabet until stepping down in 2019.

Like Page, Brin retains significant influence at Alphabet through his Class B shares. Most of his $130 billion net worth is tied to Alphabet stock.

• Roblox could move its corporation from Delaware to Nevada.
• Shareholders will vote on the possible move in May.
• Some companies have followed Elon Musk's decision to reincorporate his companies outside Delaware.

Delaware's reputation as the country's most corporate-friendly state has taken another hit.

Roblox is now the latest company to propose leaving Delaware, according to a note it sent to its shareholders this week. Numerous other major corporations — like Dropbox and Bill Ackerman's Pershing Square Capital Management — have also said in recent months they planned to leave Delaware. Meta, too, is rumored to be considering a move.

The trend began with Elon Musk, who moved Tesla and SpaceX out of Delaware last year after a Delaware judge sided with some Tesla shareholders to block Musk's $55 billion pay package.

In the note, Roblox's board of directors, who have already approved the move, urged shareholders to support the proposal.

"We believe that Nevada's corporate law framework and statutory regime aligns with Roblox's culture of innovation, values, and mission to connect the world with civility and optimism," the company said in its note to shareholders. "It also allows us to continue to build shareholder value by providing a supportive, predictable environment."

The ongoing exodus is devastating for Delaware, which has long been considered the country's most business-friendly state. According to Delaware's government, the state is home to some 2.2 million registered entities, which contribute millions to its revenue. In 2024, more than 80% of IPOs in the United States were incorporated in Delaware.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has moved to make changes to address concerns.

"The fact is Delaware is the best location in the world for a company to incorporate and that's thanks to our legal expertise dating back to 1792," Meyer told Business Insider in February. "But let's be clear: If any entity leaves Delaware, we're going to work to win them back."

Meyer said the balance of shareholder and management rights is one of the areas the state intended to address. "We're cognizant that there may be some things that need to change. We're going to work on them," he said.

On March 25, the governor approved a number of proposed changes. But for some corporations, those fixes might be too little too late.

A Roblox spokesperson told BI the company believed reincorporating in Nevada could "provide a stable and predictable legal environment in which the Company can focus on innovation and growth."