Tesla backer says Musk must reduce work with Trump as company faces 'brand tornado'

Tesla and Elon Musk are embroiled in a "brand tornado crisis moment" and the electric carmaker's chief executive needs to cut back on his work for Donald Trump to stem the damage, one of the company's biggest supporters has said.

- Dan Milmo Ashifa Kassam

The warning came as Tesla announced a recall of 46,000 Cybertrucks in the US yesterday to fix an exterior panel that could detach while driving.

Tesla shares have lost a third of their value over the past month because of a number of investor concerns, including the impact on sales from Musk's high-profile involvement with the Trump administration, including gutting some federal agencies through his "department of government efficiency" (Doge).

Dan Ives, the managing director of the US financial firm Wedbush and a self-described Tesla "core bull", said Musk's role leading Doge was damaging the multibillionaire's reputation and the business he ran.

"The brand damage started off as limited in our view based on our initial survey work... but now has spread globally over the last few weeks into what we would characterise as a brand tornado crisis moment for Musk and Tesla," Ives wrote in a note to investors.