
Musk should stay out of politics, US Treasury Secretary Bessent says
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
INVESTOR REBUKE
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
A day after Elon Musk escalated his feud with Donald Trump and announced the formation of a new U.S. political party, the president's Treasury secretary said Musk should stick to running his companies.And investment firm Azoria Partners , which had planned to launch a fund tied to Musk's automaker Tesla, said it was delaying the venture because the party's creation posed "a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO".Musk said on Saturday he was establishing the " America Party " in response to Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which Musk claimed would bankrupt the country.Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Treasury chief Scott Bessent said the boards of directors at Musk's companies - Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX - likely would prefer him to stay out of politics."I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities," Bessent said.Musk, who served as a top adviser to the White House on trimming the size of government during the first few months of Trump's presidency, said his new party would in next year's midterm elections look to unseat Republicans in Congress who backed the "big, beautiful bill".Musk spent millions of dollars underwriting Trump's re-election effort and for a time, regularly showed up at the president's side in the Oval Office and elsewhere. Their disagreement over the spending bill led to a falling out that Musk briefly tried unsuccessfully to repair.The bill, which cuts taxes and ramps up spending on defense and border security, passed last week on party-line votes in both chambers. Critics argue it will damage the economy by significantly adding to the federal budget deficit.Trump has said Musk is unhappy because the bill, which Trump signed into law on Friday, takes away green-energy credits for Tesla's electric vehicles. The president has threatened to pull billions of dollars Tesla and SpaceX receive in government contracts and subsidies in response to Musk's criticism.Bessent suggested Musk holds little sway with voters who, he said, liked his Department of Government Efficiency more than him."The principles of DOGE were very popular," Bessent said. "I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not."Musk's announcement immediately brought a rebuke from Azoria Partners, which said on Saturday it will postpone the listing of its Azoria Tesla Convexity exchange-traded fund. Azoria was set to launch the Tesla ETF this week.Azoria CEO James Fishback posted on X several critical comments about the new party and reiterated his support for Trump."I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO," Fishback said.On Sunday, Fishback added on X, "Elon left us with no other choice."The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Musk's announcement, but Stephen Miran, the chairman of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, defended the bill on ABC's "This Week"."The one, big, beautiful bill is going to create growth on turbo charge," Miran said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
'Far from reciprocal': Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea ahead of July 9 trade deadline
US President Donald Trump on Monday placed a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, citing persistent trade imbalances with the two crucial American allies in Asia. Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on August 1 by posting near-identically worded letters on Truth Social addressed to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, stating their trading relationships with Washington were "unfortunately, far from Reciprocal." Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the new US tariffs. But he also said he was ready to modify levies "downwards" if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies. The US President has been talking for a while about ending trade negotiations and sending out letters informing countries about their tariff rates. On Friday, he told reporters that 'I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12.' (Two have been released so far.) The letters, issued on White House stationary, have Trump's typical flourishes and capitalization. 'We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,' he wrote to the leaders of South Korea and Japan. He ends both of the letters by saying, 'Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Over the past week the administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before the Wednesday deadline. That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations.


Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Dow Jones falls 500 points, Nasdaq, S&P 500 slip 1% as Trump slaps tariffs on Japan, South Korea
Wall Street 's main indexes extended their fall on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Japan and South Korea, starting on Aug. 1, while Tesla shares dropped after CEO Elon Musk announced his political party ambitions. At 12:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones fell 533.75 points or 1.19% to 44,290.86, the S&P 500 declined 60.72 points or 0.97% to 6,215.29, and the Nasdaq dropped 210.57 points or 1.02% to 20,378.44. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Científica argentina revela hallazgos sobre el magnesio Salud Esencial Leer más Undo Electric vehicle maker Tesla fell 7% to a near one-month low and was on track for its worst day in over a month. Musk announced the formation of a U.S. political party named the "American Party", marking a new escalation in his feud with Trump. "Tesla investors are starting to vote their displeasure with him getting back into politics. The potential for him to start his own American party is just the exact opposite of what (they) want," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. Live Events Meanwhile, investors turned cautious as they awaited a flurry of U.S. trade announcements expected within 48 hours, with a key deadline to finalize new pacts looming. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the country is on the cusp of several deals and would notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9. He added that those duties are set to take effect on August 1. In April, Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10% on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%. Subsequently, he delayed the effective date for all but 10% until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week window for further negotiations. While the Nasdaq in April tumbled into bear market territory on tariff fears, both the index and the S&P 500 had just closed at record highs on Thursday after a robust jobs report. The Dow was about 1% away from an all-time high. Still, investors took to the sidelines, wary of shifting trade policies. Trump also threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Ten of the eleven major S&P sectors were trading in the red, with consumer discretionary falling the most by 1.1%. Shares of WNS jumped 14.3% after the French IT services firm Capgemini agreed to buy the outsourcing firm for $3.3 billion in cash. Trump's inflation-causing tariff policies have further complicated the Fed's path to lower rates. As a result, minutes of its June meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday, should offer more clues on the monetary policy outlook. Traders have fully priced out a July rate cut, with September odds at 64.4%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Attention is also on a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, passed by House Republicans after markets closed on Thursday, that is set to swell the national deficit by over $3 trillion in the next decade. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.51-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 32 new lows.
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
'Trading ties 'unfortunately, far from reciprocal': Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea
US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was slapping 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal read more US President Donald Trump on Monday said he was slapping 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal. In similarly worded letters to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, Trump announced that tariffs would take effect from August 1, citing their trade relationships with the U.S. as 'unfortunately, far from reciprocal.' The letters appear to be the first that administration officials planned to release today outlining new tariffs on major trading partners. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Takin to Truth Social, Trump posted, 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with Japan, and have concluded that we must move away from these longterm, and very persistent, Trade Deficits engendered by Japan's Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers. Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal. Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Japan a Tariff of only 25% on any and all Japanese products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral Tariffs.' 'Goods transshipped to evade a higher Tariff will be subject to that higher Tariff. Please understand that the 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country. As you are aware, there will be no Tariff if Japan, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely - In other words, in a matter of weeks,' he added. Earlier today, Trump said he would send the first tariff letters to various countries, days before his deadline for trading partners to reach a deal expires. He said he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters, warning that the US levies on imports would snap back to the high levels he set in April if countries failed to make agreements. With inputs from agencies