Tesla Shares Crash After Elon Musk Announces Foray Into Politics With American Party
Shares of Elon Musk's company were trading at USD 292.40, down by 7.28% on the Nasdaq stock exchange as of 12:23:08 PM EDT
Tesla Shares Crash: Shares in Tesla tanked by over 7% on Monday, days after its CEO Elon announced his political entry with the launch of the American Party.
Musk's announcement of his new venture came on Saturday when markets were closed.
Shares of Elon Musk's company were trading at USD 292.40, down by 7.28% on the Nasdaq stock exchange as of 12:23:08 PM EDT.
Musk's once-close friend, US President Donald Trump, has called his announcement 'ridiculous" and said it would sow confusion.
The world's richest person — and Trump's biggest political donor in the 2024 election — had a bitter falling out with the president over his 'One Big Beautiful Bill", which he dubbed as a 'disgusting abomination".
Musk has argued that the policies will add trillions of dollars to the federal budget deficit. 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy," Musk said on his social media platform, X, Saturday. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."
Trump last week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies receive from the federal government and threatened to deport the SpaceX boss from the US.
Tesla's fortunes have taken a turn in recent months as it has grappled with intensifying competition from rival EV makers and the fallout from Musk's foray into US politics.
Last week, the company reported a record fall in second-quarter sales, selling 13.5% fewer vehicles compared with the same period in 2024. For that year, Tesla has also reported its first-ever annual decline in sales as a public company. The drop was small — around 1% — though it marks a striking turnaround for an automaker historically accustomed to robust sales growth.
Notably, Tesla is poised to lose its title as the world's largest EV maker, based on annual sales, to Chinese automaker BYD, even though BYD has not entered the US market.
Meanwhile, Musk's recent involvement at the wheel of the US government, helming the Department of Government Efficiency and spearheading mass layoffs of federal workers, has, among other controversies, sparked protests outside Tesla's showrooms worldwide.
In May, Musk announced he would step down from his government position, raising hopes among investors that he will now have more time to work on his companies, which include SpaceX and X. But the billionaire's feud with Trump, and likely upcoming attempts to woo voters to his new party, have thrust him back into the political arena.
Shares of Tesla nearly doubled after election day, setting a record high in mid-December thanks to investor expectations that an alliance between Trump and Musk would be beneficial for Tesla. But the controversy and blowback caused by Musk's political activities sent shares tumbling, and they've lost more than a third of their value from since.
(with inputs from Reuters)
First Published:
July 07, 2025, 21:50 IST
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