Assuming Musk actually does ditch DOGE (this administration has not been big on following federal laws, after all), he’ll be leaving his new mess for an old one. Tesla is staring down a potential crisis, in no small part because of how badly Musk’s behavior has damaged the brand.

Tesla stock is down more than 50% from its December peak as Elon Musk’s company heads into an earnings report expected to bring its worst profit in four years.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, said on Monday that Musk faces a "code red situation" if he doesn't start to distance himself from Trump and DOGE. In a recent research note, Ives wrote that Tesla could face "potentially 15%-20% permanent demand destruction ... due to the brand damage Musk has created with DOGE."