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Christopher Tsai, the president and chief investment officer of investment management firm Tsai Capital, said he hopes Elon Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is temporary.
"I hope his involvement with DOGE is short-lived so he can spend even more time on his businesses," Tsai said in an interview with The Guardian published Saturday.
Tsai, who is also the founder of his eponymous firm, is heavily invested in Tesla. Tsai Capital said in an SEC filing on February 12 that it owned 69,700 Tesla shares, which comprised about one-fifth of its $137 million portfolio.
Representatives for Tesla and Tsai did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Musk's attempts to slash government spending with DOGE have caused problems for his car business. Protesters have descended upon Tesla showrooms nationwide to express their displeasure with Musk's work with DOGE.
Tesla's stock initially benefited from a postelection boost after President Donald Trump's victory in November, but has since slid by more than 50% from recent highs. The company has also seen its sales decline in Europe and China.
To be sure, Tsai isn't the only Tesla backer who thinks that Musk isn't paying enough attention to the company.
Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla investor, told Business Insider in February that he expected Tesla stock to drop by as much as 50% this year because Musk is distracted by other areas like AI.
"His 100% focus is on AI, and that's really a detriment to Tesla more than it's a plus for xAI and all the other businesses because he doesn't work at Tesla anymore," Gerber said, adding that he would be "more confident" if Musk focused on Tesla's Full Self-Driving software instead.
Last week, Gerber told BI that he doesn't expect Tesla's stock to rebound this year despite its recent losses. Musk had alienated Tesla's customers with his political activities and positions, Gerber said.
Musk, too, seems to be aware of the toll that helming DOGE has taken.
Musk said in an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, which aired on March 10, that he was balancing his work with DOGE and his other businesses "with great difficulty."
"I'm just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud, and so far, we're making good progress, actually," Musk told Kudlow.
