Is Elon Musk's political profile and BFF status with President Trump hurting Tesla sales? Maybe — but it's complicated, analysts say. Why it matters: Tesla is by far the U.S. EV sales leader and long the world's top seller (though it has recently been trading the lead with China's BYD).

Weak sales, Trump tariffs and the actions of their eccentric CEO could all be taking a toll on the electric vehicle powerhouse.

He views Tesla as a vertically integrated AI play. Tesla has millions of cars on the road generating data, which can develop the software to make cars drive themselves. It also ha