Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are saying see you later, but not goodbye, on Friday. Investors will be watching.

"I am having a Press Conference tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. [Eastern], with [Elon Musk] at the Oval Office," said the president in a Thursday evening post on Truth Social. "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific!"

The event formalizes what investors had expected since late April when Musk said on Tesla's first-quarter earnings conference call that he was planning to spend less time in Washington, D.C. Musk reiterated the idea in a tweet earlier this week, thanking President Trump for the opportunity to serve.

Coming into Friday trading, Tesla stock was up 51% since the April earnings report containing Musk's revelation. In morning trading, shares were up 0.8% at $361.29.

Besides Musk's step back from government work, investors were pleased by management comments about robotaxis, robots, and new lower-priced cars. Still, it's possible to argue that Musk's decision accounts for almost all of the post-earnings gain.

Musk runs several companies, including SpaceX and xAI, making his focus a continuing topic for investors. And his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, took up a lot of his time while Tesla sales were flagging. Tesla delivered about 337,000 cars in the first quarter, down 13% year over year. It was the worst quarterly decline in the company's history, missing Wall Street estimates by tens of thousands of vehicles.

Those sales declines were partly attributed by Wall Street to brand damage done by Musk and DOGE. Not all Americans were happy with the cuts and how DOGE operates inside the government. Tesla management acknowledged brand "challenges" on its first-quarter earnings conference call, adding that new vehicles and self-driving robotaxis could help restore some shine to the Tesla logo.

Musk stepping back from political activities will also likely help.

As for DOGE, it counts about $175 billion in savings to date. That's far short of the trillions in savings floated by Musk, but the department has only operated for a few months, and even Musk admitted his bolder goals were aspirational.

Musk has criticized the "One Big Beautiful Bill" for increasing the deficit and undermining the work of DOGE. That's a break from the party line, but Musk has also disagreed with the president over tariffs.

The press conference might be designed to squelch any ideas that there has been a fissure created between the two men. A solid relationship between Trump and Musk with Musk out at DOGE is about the best outcome Tesla investors could hope for at this point.