Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, the visionary who pushed the world into an era of electrification. But

Tesla's board on Thursday rushed to defend its chief executive, Elon Musk, assuring he had the board's confidence amid rising investor worries about his prolonged absences, polarizing politics and the EV maker's plunging sales and profit.

Musk has been spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C., as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency.