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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tesla shares take $150bn plunge as Musk vs Trump erupts
Tesla shares fell sharply in US trading on Thursday after the sudden eruption of a public spat between boss Elon Musk and President Donald Trump sparked fears of reprisals for the electric car giant. Trump threatened to terminate 'Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts' on his social messaging service Truth Social after a disagreement over the President's budget bill saw the pair exchange accusations and insults. US subsidies and contracts at Federal and state level are worth billions to Tesla, which also currently benefits from a $7,500 tax credit available for electric vehicle purchases. Trump wrote: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Tesla shares fell more than 14 per cent by the end of US trading, wiping $150billion off the carmaker's market capitalisation. Analysts at Wedbush said: 'The quickly deteriorating friendship and now 'major beef' between Musk and Trump is jaw dropping and a shock to the market and putting major fear for Tesla investors on what is ahead. 'This situation between Musk and Trump could start to settle down and the friendship continues but this must start to be calmed down on the Musk and Trump fronts and it's not good for either side. 'This feud does not change our bullish view of Tesla and the autonomous view but clearly does put a fly in the ointment of the Trump regulatory framework going forward.' Musk's relationship with the President has been a major driver of Tesla's fortunes, for better and for worse, over the last two years. Tesla shares rose more than 60 per cent between the start of November when Trump was elected to the end of 2024. But investor pressure over Musk's controversial role in the White House ultimately led to him to stepping down from his unofficial 'DOGE' department, which had sparked protests and vandalism directed at Tesla. The controversy also appears to have weighed on Tesla sales. Tesla shares were on a run more recently, however, after Musk confirmed the group would be testing an autonomous, driverless 'robotaxi' service in Austin, Texas, this month. Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Investing in Tesla isn't for the faint of heart, and Musk's enthusiasm for topics close to heart is both a blessing and, at times, a curse. 'Let's not forget, Tesla has its own battles, with disappointing sales numbers and brand damage weighing on sentiment in the near term. 'For now, markets are willing to look past the weakening auto business with AI and automation the real prizes. But with such a pivotal few months ahead for the autonomous strategy, investors will want to see Musk give his full attention back to Tesla.' Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, added: 'Perhaps more importantly, the latest feud has also heightened unease that the President's seemingly irascible and erratic behaviour is symptomatic of the environment which has been created on a global scale. 'Companies have already been stepping back from providing guidance comments for the next few months, while consumer sentiment is brittle given the wider context of what could be a weakening outlook.'


The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump aides ‘to broker peace talks' with Elon Musk after feud
Update: Date: 2025-06-06T07:45:00.000Z Title: Donald Trump Content: US president told Politico, 'Oh it's OK,' and, 'It's going very well, never done better,' when asked about his public breakup with billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the news outlet reported on Thursday. White House aides have scheduled a call on Friday with Musk to broker a peace, Politico reported. On Thursday, Trump and Musk escalated their disagreement about the US budget bill into a big public argument on social media. When asked about Musk's criticism of his 'Big, Beautiful Bill', the US president told reporters: Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more. Trump also said he was 'very disappointed in Elon'. In return, Musk published a flurry of posts that stepped up his feud with the president and went on to claim that without him Trump would have 'lost the election' before bemoaning what he called 'such ingratitude'. Meanwhile, a district judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration's ban on Harvard's international students from entering the United States after the Ivy League university argued the move was illegal. Harvard had asked the judge, Allison Burrough, to block the ban, pending further litigation, arguing Trump had violated federal law by failing to back up his claims that the students posed a threat to national security. More on both of these stories in a moment, but first, here are some other key developments: Musk also suggested Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace Trump, warning that Trump's global tariffs would 'cause a recession in the second half of this year' and claimed Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The White House described the Epstein assertions as an 'unfortunate episode', in a statement to CNN. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and Elon Musk critic, suggested there were grounds to deport the tech billionaire, who has US citizenship. Bannon told the New York Times: 'They 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.' Poland's foreign minister poked fun at Musk late on Thursday, returning to a social media spat from March after the Tesla and SpaceX boss spectacularly fell out with Trump. Warsaw's top diplomat Radoslaw Sikorski found himself embroiled in an extraordinarily public clash with Musk and US secretary of state Marco Rubio in March after he said Ukraine may need an alternative to the Starlink satellite service. Trump's pick to be the next US surgeon general has repeatedly said the nation's medical, health and food systems are corrupted by special interests and people out to make a profit at the expense of Americans' health. Yet as Casey Means has criticised scientists, medical schools and regulators for taking money from the food and pharmaceutical industries, she has promoted dozens of health and wellness products – including specialty basil seed supplements, a blood testing service and a prepared meal delivery service – in ways that put money in her own pocket. A review by The Associated Press found Means, who has carved out a niche in the wellness industry, set up deals with an array of businesses.


Times
an hour ago
- Times
From the coal house to the White House: Fiona Hill, the Briton who profiled Putin
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