Trump-Musk Feud: Tesla Now Worst-Performing Stock, Loses $380 Billion In 2025
Washington DC:
Elon Musk's political adventure has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride - Oval Office access and conference calls with world leaders at the President's golf resort at its peak and being threatened about his government contracts being scrapped and tax benefits being revoked at its worst.
But it is Musk's businesses that have borne the brunt of his political escapade, especially in the last 24 hours, after his public fallout with former friend and boss Donald Trump. Tesla has become the worst-performing large-cap stock this year. Its valuation was on a steady decline ever since Musk made his political ambitions public.
THE DECLINE
Its decline picked pace amid Trump's rhetoric about "beautiful" oil and his executive order on Day 1 of his second term ordering to "drill baby, drill" to "Make America Great Again". As Trump kept hard-selling vehicles that run on petroleum, the demand for Electric Vehicles or EVs fell sharply.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's political controversies over his ties to far-right groups resulted in Tesla stock losing even more value after Trump took office in January. But the most devastating blow to the Tesla stock came after Thursday's explosive fallout when the two brash billionaires indulged in a no-holds-barred verbal duel resulting in an end to their partnership.
FREE FALL
Stock valuation went into free fall as markets opened after Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' was passed by House Republicans leading to Musk and Trump trading threats and insults. Tesla stock plunged more than 14 per cent, resulting in a wipeout of roughly $152 billion in a matter of hours.
With this, Tesla has lost more than $380 billion in valuation since the beginning of 2025 - making it the biggest loser among large-cap stocks. Tesla's market capitalization has fallen 29.3 per cent to $917 billion so far this year.
The firm, which ranked eighth globally in terms of market cap at the start of the year, is now on the verge of dropping out of the top 10 big companies globally.
THE EV-KILLER BILL
Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' is seen by Elon Musk as an EV-killer since the bill removes tax cuts or tax benefits given to electric vehicle manufacturers. For a firm like Tesla, this means tens of billions of dollars annually.
Donald Trump has now also threatened to cut Elon Musk's government subsidies and contracts, which give both Tesla and SpaceX "billions and billions of dollars" of benefits. Elon Musk's personal wealth has also taken a beating since the public feud, dropping by nearly $9 billion, according to Bloomberg's billionaire index.
'SUCH INGRATITUDE'
During the spat, Elon Musk reminded the "ungrateful" President that the reason he can call the White House his home, was because of Musk's financial and moral support during the election campaign last year, for which he had poured in hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate...Such ingratitude," Musk wrote in a post on X.
Musk has now suggested that Trump "should be impeached" and JD Vance should take over, claiming that the US President figures in the Epstein files over his links to child sex abuser and trafficker Jeffery Epstein.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
30 minutes ago
- News18
'I Am Not Participating...': FBI Chief Kash Patel Responds To Trump-Musk Public Feud
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel has refused to participate in the public feud between US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, after the latter said Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files, which is why they have not been released so far. 'I'm not participating in any of that conversation between Elon and Trump," said Patel on the 'Joe Rogan Experience" podcast on Thursday after learning of Musk's statement regarding Trump's involvement in the Epstein files.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Explosions Rock Ukrainian Cities In One Of The War's Darkest Nights; Dozens Killed, Several Injured
/ Jun 07, 2025, 09:19AM IST In one of the most intense nights of the war, Russia launched a massive missile and drone assault on Ukraine, striking the capital Kyiv and multiple other cities. The attack killed at least six people and injured dozens, including emergency responders caught in secondary blasts. Explosions shattered buildings, knocked out power, and forced civilians to shelter underground. Ukrainian officials say this was retaliation for recent drone strikes on Russian airbases that destroyed strategic bombers. As cities smolder and search efforts continue, President Zelensky calls for urgent international pressure on Russia. The air force reports hundreds of drones used in this unprecedented attack. Meanwhile, Trump blames Ukraine for provoking the Kremlin, while Ukrainian leaders accuse Russia of deliberately targeting civilians. The war takes a darker turn as both sides escalate.#zelensky #putinattacks #ukrainewar #russianstrikes #dronewarfare #missilebarrage #trumponukraine #ceasefirenow #natoresponse #ukrainenews #russiaukraineconflict #globalpressure
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump signs orders intended to jolt US drone manufacturing
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Friday aimed at bolstering the US drone industry, cracking down on unauthorized flights and countering threats to national security and public orders sought to expand opportunities for commercial and recreational drone use, and tighten restrictions to address security threats. American officials have been concerned about foreign adversaries using drones to spy on sensitive areas, including military installations, and about China's dominance of the drone market, which they see as a national security threat."Building a strong and secure domestic drone sector is vital to reducing reliance on foreign sources, strengthening critical supply chains and ensuring that the benefits of this technology are delivered to the American people," one of the orders drone orders were part of a broader federal push into airborne technology. A third order he signed Friday sought to revive high-speed commercial air travel, by repealing regulations prohibiting cross-country supersonic flights, which for decades have precluded nonmilitary air travel over land at faster-than-sound and Republican administrations, as well as Congress, have grappled in recent years with the risks posed by China's role in drone manufacturing. The United States has struggled to develop alternatives at a scale necessary to wean drone operators, including the US military, completely off Chinese the same time, the growing popularity of commercial and recreational drones, and an increase in incidents of drones flying over sensitive sites, have heightened demand for Trump administration warned that drones have been used to smuggle drugs across borders, and that they could pose threats to large public gatherings, such as the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, both of which are being held in the United of Trump's executive orders directed the Federal Aviation Administration to allow commercial users and public safety officials to fly drones beyond their range of sight. Under current rules, a user must be able to see the drone they are also backed a program to test aircraft that make vertical takeoffs and landings, which have the potential to improve cargo transport, medical responses and access to rural order also directed the commerce secretary to promote exports of US-made drones, and instructed federal agencies to prioritize purchases of executive order directed the FAA to develop processes to restrict the airspace over critical infrastructure, military installations, large airports, federal facilities and national also called on the attorney general and the FAA to more robustly enforce civil and criminal penalties for drone operators who violate laws or airspace restrictions. And it promoted grants for state and local law enforcement agencies to access drone-detection and tracking representatives said that the orders were an important investment in the US drone Ellman, CEO of the Commercial Drone Alliance, said in a statement that they were "long-overdue steps."The orders were Trump's most comprehensive attempt yet to boost the US drone his first term, he signed directives that sought to increase the use of drones. Days before he departed the White House, he instructed federal agencies to determine whether they could reduce the procurement of drones manufactured by foreign has taken steps to single out drone manufacturers for scrutiny and potential restrictions in the United States. In last year's defense bill, an annual measure that authorizes policies and funding for the Pentagon and military, lawmakers directed national security agencies to determine whether equipment produced by DJI or Autel, both Chinese companies that manufacture drones, posed a risk to the United States.A provision of the legislation said that if no determination was made within a year, the equipment would be added to the Federal Communications Commission's list of devices that cannot be sold in the United is not clear how many Chinese-manufactured drones exist in the United States, though they are estimated to be a majority of those in use. In the spring, there were over 1 million registered drones in the United States, according to the FAA, over 400,000 of which were commercial drones and over 350,000 of which were for recreational FAA requires the registration of all drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds. The FAA also restricts how high drones can be flown without authorization, to less than 400 feet, unless they are within a certain radius of tall structures. In restricted airspace, drone use is limited even Rocheleau, the acting FAA administrator, told House lawmakers this week that it was not possible for the FAA to know exactly how many drones were in the sky, given the limits of registration requirements."We do in fact work with legal operators, and we would be able to collect that," he told the Appropriations Committee, adding: "A child with a drone would be more challenging."
