Elon Musk's Contentious Relationship with President Trump Leads to $152 Billion Decrease in Tesla's Stock Market Value
It took no time at all for a staggering $152 billion to evaporate from Tesla's market valuation and a whopping $100 million from "TrumpCoin". The end of the buddy-buddy relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump had been simmering for weeks, but on Thursday, things took a turn for the explosive. Taking to the platform he personally owns, X, Musk let loose, slamming Trump's so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill," which contains provisions that tighten immigration, throttle green energy subsidies, and foresee a $2.4 trillion increase in the US deficit. Trump shot back on Truth Social, his very own platform, accusing Musk of opposing the bill only because it would nix electric vehicle tax credits that Tesla, Musk's very own company, benefits from. The back-and-forth unfolded into a deluge of posts, with the bulk coming from Musk, who claimed Trump was mixed up in the Epstein Files-which, he alleges, is the reason the files have yet to see the light of day.
And now, AI Lab Newsletter by Will Knight tells us more.
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Tesla's stock plummeted around 14 percent at the time of writing, marking the company's worst single-day loss in years. Trump's currency of choice, "TrumpCoin," dipped nearly 10 percent.
This high-stakes divorce is a doozy for everyone involved. Trump declared he'd yank Musk's governmental subsidies and contracts, which are a lucrative source of cash for corporations like Tesla and SpaceX. Musk, in turn, declared he'd decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which NASA uses for transporting cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station, right away. Steve Bannon, a Trump ally and a vocal adversary of Musk, informed The New York Times that he's counseling the president to cancel all contracts with Musk and initiate a series of investigations.
"He should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately," Bannon stated. Rumors have circulated that Musk may have fibbed on his visa forms, which could potentially make it illegal for him to work in the United States during the 1990s.
Tesla's stock drop comes at a delicate juncture for the electric-vehicle pioneer. This month, the company is set to debut its much-hyped (and heavily delayed) robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Musk has said investors should view Tesla as a robotics and autonomous vehicle technology firm rather than merely an electric automaker, placing the company's self-driving tech and humanoid robot aspirations at the forefront of its $916 billion market capitalization. Bloomberg reported that the company has internally targeted next week for the launch. Musk has repeatedly insisted that his AI company, xAI, would soon release a new model, though this has been delayed.
Tesla's latest quarterly results, posted in April, were grim, with production, deliveries, and sales all experiencing a significant decline, particularly in Europe. The company has scaled back its ambitions to manufacture an economical electric vehicle, scrapping plans to utilize innovative and advanced production techniques. Musk aimed to console worried investors by announcing that he'd leave his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) post and return to his companies, including Tesla, mostly full-time.
Musk denied the feud with Trump had anything to do with electric vehicle subsidies. Musk has maintained since joining Trump's campaign that Tesla doesn't need federal tax credits, which can reach $7,500 per car, to sell vehicles. But on X, Musk seemed to vent some frustration over Trump's EV policy. "Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill," he wrote.
Since February, protests against Musk's and Trump's politics-from their climate stances to the actions of DOGE-have intensified, with thousands of protesters descending upon Tesla showrooms and service centers worldwide. What started as a grassroots movement has since evolved into a centralized organization and a name: the Tesla Takedown. On Thursday afternoon, organizers put out a brief statement: "Sell, Sell, Sell."
- The AI Lab Newsletter by Will Knight reveals more about the ongoing dispute between Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
- Tesla's stock drop, incurring a 14% loss, marks the company's worst single-day loss in years, as stated by AI Lab Newsletter.
- Trump's "TrumpCoin" also saw a decline, dipping nearly 10%, as mentioned in the same newsletter.
- The high-stakes divorce between Musk and Trump has created turbulent waves in the business world, with Trump threatening to revoke Musk's governmental subsidies and contracts.
- Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, suggested initiating investigations into Musk's immigration status, stating that he believes Musk is an illegal alien who should be deported immediately.
- Tesla's latest quarterly results, posted in April, demonstrated a significant decline in production, deliveries, and sales, particularly in Europe, according to the newsletter.
- Musk has maintained that his feud with Trump has nothing to do with electric vehicle subsidies, but he expressed frustration over Trump's EV policy in a recent post on his platform X.
