The former “first buddy” remains a potent political risk for Trump months after he publicly left the White House.

Tesla reportedly fired Omead Afshar, its head of North American and European operations, in June following a massive drop in European EV deliveries. Afshar, who joined Tesla in 2017, was just promoted to the position in November. The Wall Street Journal described Afshar as one of Musk's closest confidants at the company.

Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably “half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year — that’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.”