Tesla's results were not electrifying, to say the least
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Tesla's results were not electrifying. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. It was a downbeat Elon Musk yesterday explaining crummy quarterly results for his electric car company, Tesla. Musk told his investors he'll be spending less time doging and more time doing his private sector work. Tesla stock is up six and a half percent in pre-market trading right now. Marketplace with Nova Safo is here with more.

Yeah, no way of sugarcoating the actual numbers, David. Tesla's first quarter results were quite bad, which is unsurprising considering the blowback and protests at Tesla dealerships over Elon Musk's cost-cutting work at the Trump administration. Tesla's auto sales were down 20%. Profits were down a whopping 70%. And what's moving markets this morning is that Elon Musk, in an analyst call, promised that starting sometime next month,

He will spend just a day or two per week working with the Trump administration and more of his time will be dedicated to Tesla. Now, topic one in the car and truck business, import taxes, tariffs. He addressed that.

Yes, he did. And he said in the past that he expects Tesla to be less exposed to tariffs and the disruptions that they would cause. But the company acknowledged yesterday that they would still take a hit. And on the call at one point, Musk, unprompted, took a pause, then sighed, and then he said this. The tariff decision is entirely up to the president of the United States. I will weigh in with my advice with the president, which he said.

He will listen to my advice, but then it's up to him, of course, to make his decision. I've been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea. And in that message, Elon Musk is in agreement with much of Detroit's auto industry, which sent a joint letter to the Trump administration this week urging them to reconsider the 25 percent auto tariffs, David, which are set to kick in next month.

All right, Nova, thank you. President Trump yesterday sounded more dovish on the U.S.-China trade war, saying the tariffs he raised on China, 145 percent, quote, will come down substantially. We've been hearing from businesses about how tough it is to plan, given tariff to-ing and fro-ing and other policy shifts. This week, we'll get sales profits and hints about the road ahead from some consumer-oriented companies, Pepsi, Chipotle, Southwest Airlines, Marketplace's Savannah Peters has more.

Companies offer guidance that they believe they can meet or, better yet, beat in their next quarterly results, says Randy Burt, an analyst with Alex Partners. Generally, though, when you miss expectations, your stock price goes down, and usually very quickly.

So there's a lot riding on the narratives companies share about where they're headed. But right now, says Caleb Silver with Investopedia, We are at a time where there is a great lack of visibility. for all companies trying to forecast their outlook, but especially those that compete for our discretionary dollars.

Silver says they're trying to predict when the resilient American consumer will break under rising prices and stop splurging on travel and takeout. That's why you're hearing so many companies in the discretionary sector say, we just can't provide a forecast or we have two different paths that this could go. One set of guidance for if American consumers just keep spending and another for if we start to tighten our belts. I'm Savannah Peters for Marketplace.

President Trump, after going after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell late last week and early this week, this included calling Powell a major loser and posting his termination could not come fast enough. Trump said yesterday he has no plans to fire Powell, but saying he wished Powell will be more active in lowering interest rates.

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Snapshot now on the housing market with sales figures from newly built places due later today. The number of new houses completed was up 10 percent compared to March a year ago, but new construction faces headwinds. Here's Marketplace's Henry Epp.

The number of new single-family housing starts, projects that began construction, dropped by 14 percent in March. That metric can be volatile month to month, but Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, says at this time of year... We would generally see an increase in starts in March of this year. Actually, this is very unusual to see. The weather is warmer, but the customers just aren't there, says Donnie Wills, a general contractor in Austin, Texas.

Homeowners are scared watching their 401ks and things like that diminish. So they're less likely to spend cash on renovations and building new houses. I mean,

Many potential buyers, he says, are nervous that lumber and other materials will get more expensive over the course of their building project, thanks to the president's tariffs. Wills says he has not seen his costs go up yet, but others surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders have. Robert Dietz is the group's chief economist. Builders in our surveys have reported that their building material suppliers have

have typically raised prices such that it increases their construction costs per single-family home by about $11,000. Dietz says builders reported seeing fewer inquiries from prospective buyers, less traffic to their model homes and websites. I think that's a reflection that the consumers have kind of taken this wait-and-see approach.

Which comes at a tricky time in certain markets. The Sunbelt has seen lots of new home building in recent years. Charlie Dougherty is a senior economist at Wells Fargo. What, you know, you're kind of seeing now is that, you know, demand has probably fallen short of the supply that builders have brought to market over the past year. Which means more builders in those regions may cut prices. So if you're a prospective buyer who can afford it, Dougherty says...

I think this is a potentially good opportunity to get into the new home market. But it's not exactly the kind of environment that'll encourage developers in those areas to build even more new homes. Donnie Wills in Austin, Texas, is doing a lot more home renovation projects this year, a cheaper option for his customers and a way to keep bringing in some revenue. Yeah, it keeps the employees busy. It keeps the subcontractors busy. You know, it may not be

you know, where they're hiring, you know, 10, 15, 20 more guys to do the project. But, you know, at least it keeps those companies up and alive. And hopefully hanging on until new home construction picks up again. I'm Henry Epp for Marketplace. And in Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio of Marketplace Morning Report. APM American Public Media. If there's one thing we know about social media, it's that misinformation is everywhere, especially when it comes to personal finance.

Financially Inclined from Marketplace is a podcast you can trust to help you get serious about your money so you can build a life you've always dreamed of. I'm the host, Janelia Espinal, and each week I ask experts important money questions like how to negotiate job offers, how to choose a college that you can afford, and how to talk about money with friends and family. Listen to Financially Inclined wherever you get your podcasts.