Elon Musk Says X Outages Were Caused by a Cyberattack From Ukraine

Elon Musk is facing questions about how much attention he is paying to his businesses as he advises President Trump on the direction of the federal government.

The questions have mounted as Mr. Musk’s business empire — which includes the electric car maker Tesla, the social media site X and the rocket maker SpaceX — has run into challenges.

On Monday, users of X reported widespread outages. The same day, Tesla’s stock fell more than 15 percent amid concerns that include declining electric vehicle sales and politically driven protests against the manufacturer. And last week, a SpaceX rocket exploded in Florida during launch, showering some places with debris.

Mr. Musk on Monday quickly blamed the X issues on a cyberattack stemming from Ukraine, without providing evidence. He posted on X that Democratic donors were responsible for seeding protests against Tesla, again without evidence. In response to the SpaceX explosion, he said on X: “Rockets are hard.”

Questions about Mr. Musk’s continuing oversight of his companies are coming to a head as he spends more time in Washington on a major cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency, trimming thousands of government jobs and contracts. But even there, he is facing questions about his role after a contentious cabinet meeting last week in which Mr. Trump limited Mr. Musk’s power to advising the departments.

The effects of Mr. Musk’s government involvement are particularly prominent at Tesla. The company, where Mr. Musk is chief executive, has faced protests and violence at some of its dealerships, including shots fired last week at a dealership in Oregon. In Boston, someone set fire to Tesla charging stations, and protesters were arrested at a nonviolent rally at a Tesla dealership in Lower Manhattan.