Elon Musk will significantly scale back his Trump administration work in May to focus on Tesla, the billionaire announced Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker reported a 71% drop in first-quarter profits.

"Probably in the next month, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly," Musk said at the outset of an earnings conference call, referring to his work for the "Department of Government Efficiency."

The comments came as Tesla reported profits of $409 million following a drop in auto sales that analysts said reflected brand damage due to Musk's work for President Donald Trump in slashing the U.S. federal workforce.