Tesla offers huge discounts on Cybertruck model as Trump-Musk public spat grows bitter

Time of India

19 hours ago

Tesla is offering interest-free loans on its Cybertruck after a public feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, a move equivalent to a $10,000 discount. This follows a significant drop in Tesla's stock and criticism from Musk regarding Trump's proposed tax-and-spending bill, which includes phasing out electric vehicle tax credits.
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Tesla has offered huge discounts on its Cybertruck model just hours after CEO Elon Musk got in a public feud with President Donald Trump on social media. According to Electrek, Tesla announced it is offering interest-free loans on the Cybertruck until the end of the month and the move is the equivalent of a roughly $10,000 discount.The electric car company, which Trump described as "having a hard time" yesterday, suffered a big blow yesterday after the company's stock dropped more than 14 percent on Thursday. The war of words between Trump and Musk has already taken a toll on Tesla, which saw a double-digit percentage drop. Forbes estimates the drop wiped $17.2 billion from Musk's previous $400 billion fortune.Tesla stock began to rebound last month, climbing 22% after Elon Musk revealed he was stepping down from the Department of Government Efficiency to refocus on his role as Tesla's CEO. The electric vehicle maker had faced significant challenges since Musk joined the Trump administration, including dealership protests and sharp declines in both sales and stock value.After its dramatic debut in 2019, the Tesla Cybertruck racked up over 1 million reservations, generating massive hype for the electric pickup, as per Electrek. But excitement cooled quickly after the production model launched in 2023—at nearly double the expected price and with reduced range—leading to widespread disappointment.Tesla originally targeted an annual production rate of 250,000 units at its Gigafactory in Texas, with CEO Elon Musk envisioning output potentially reaching 500,000 trucks per year. In reality, the company struggled to sell even 40,000 Cybertrucks in the first year. By 2025, deliveries had slowed further as unsold inventory built up.In response to sluggish demand, Tesla scaled back production and began offering steeper incentives. Today, the company rolled out its most aggressive offer yet: 0% APR financing for customers who purchase a Cybertruck bundled with the $8,000 Full Self-Driving package."Fine, you got me 0% APR," a post on the Cybertruck's official account read, telling customers that to be eligible for the loan, they must make the purchase before June 30.Tesla has already been offering 0% financing on the Model 3 and reduced-rate financing on the Model Y, but extending similar incentives to the more expensive Cybertruck comes at a steep cost.Tesla shares clawed back from steep losses as a war of words between Musk and Donald Trump appeared to cool, easing investor worries about the likely political fallout on the electric automaker. Shares rose about 5% in early trading, reported Reuters.A public clash between the world's most powerful leader and its wealthiest man wiped out over $150 billion from Tesla's market value on Thursday — marking the company's largest single-day loss ever.Short-sellers, who profit by betting against stocks, gained nearly $4 billion from the plunge — the second-highest one-day windfall on record, according to Ortex data.The fallout intensified after Elon Musk ramped up criticism of Donald Trump's ambitious tax-and-spending proposal, which includes phasing out the popular $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit by the end of 2025.A growing division has emerged between Musk and Trump since the former left the White House at the end of May, with the president's "big, beautiful bill" becoming a major point of contention between the two former allies. During a White House meeting on Thursday, Trump said that he had been disappointed in Musk's criticism of the budget bill, suggesting that the billionaire opposed it because it removed electric vehicle tax credits."I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people," Trump told reporters. "All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to to cut the EV mandate.""Whatever," Musk shot back on X, formerly Twitter, in what began a flurry of furious posts aimed at the president. He later claimed that Trump would have lost the election without his support, adding "such ingratitude." Trump responded with his own post on Truth Social, suggesting that the government should "terminate" Musk's federal subsidies and contracts.