Latest news with #EVTaxCredits
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's feud with Trump likely won't blow up Tesla's robotaxi push, analysts say
Elon Musk's relationship with President Donald Trump imploded in a series of social media posts. Tesla's stock took a 14% dip on Thursday before it recovered some of the losses. Analysts said the feud won't have lasting impacts on Tesla's business, including robotaxis. Elon Musk's public sparring with President Donald Trump last week may have briefly put a dent in Tesla's value, but analysts say they can't see any reason the feud would have a long-term impact on the company's business, including its robotaxi ambitions. The feud between Musk and Trump began with the Tesla CEO's criticism of the GOP's spending bill, which slashes EV tax credits and is estimated to add more than $2.4 trillion to the national deficit. The clash then escalated with threats coming from both sides: Trump threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's companies, and the CEO fired back by saying he'd shut down SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft before reneging. During Musk's fight with Trump on Thursday, Tesla's stock dipped 14%, wiping out $138 billion from the company's market cap. The company recovered some of the losses the following day. Yet the CEO saw one of his biggest single-day hits to his net worth with an estimated $34 billion loss. Still, some analysts say this storm will pass. "Musk's and Trump's relationship has an impact on the stock and maybe investor sentiment, but as far as the actual business impact for Tesla, I never thought Trump getting elected was positive or that negative for Tesla," Seth Goldstein, Morningstar analyst, told Business Insider. "So with the feud that started between Trump and Musk, I never really viewed that as that positive or negative for Tesla either." While it may not be helpful to no longer be in Trump's good graces, Goldstein said the president has already made clear that he would cut EV subsidies, which the analyst viewed as having the most negative impact not just on Tesla but on all EV makers. Gene Munster, Tesla investor and managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, estimated in a Friday report that the elimination of the tax credits could reduce 2025 deliveries by 15%. As far as Tesla's June robotaxi launch in Austin goes, which Musk says will unlock trillions of dollars of market value for his company, analysts say there's little reason to believe the administration would want to hinder progress there. "In my view, the White House has little to gain in standing in front of autonomy, given autonomy is central to physical AI, and for the US to be a leader globally in AI, it also needs to be a leader in physical AI," Munster said in his Friday report. "The bottom line, I expect cooler heads to prevail and the Federal Government will continue to support the growth of these services." Goldstein told BI that he doesn't see many avenues the administration could take to hinder Tesla's robotaxi progress. He said the Department of Transportation is reviewing federal standards for autonomous vehicle safety. "In theory, if Trump wanted to see Musk face retaliation and target Tesla, they could, say, require autonomous vehicles to have lidar in order to be approved by the federal government for operation, but I don't think they're going to get that detailed," Goldstein said. "I think that Trump could more easily just target SpaceX by just cutting their contracts if he really wanted to hurt Elon, versus making some really weird, nuanced policy." Spokespeople for the DOT and the White House did not respond to a request for comment. In a note on Friday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote that Musk's feud with Trump doesn't impact the "longer-term vectors that drive the stock's value." "AI leadership, autonomy/robotics, manufacturing, supply chain re-architecture, renewable power, critical infrastructure... Tesla still holds so many valuable cards that are largely apolitical, in our opinion," Jonas wrote. By late Friday afternoon, the online jabs had slowed down, but the Trump-Musk alliance remained on ice. The president told NBC News on Saturday that he doesn't expect to mend his relationship with Musk and warned the CEO against supporting Democratic candidates. Still, during a press gaggle on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he hadn't thought about Musk but wished him and his company well. "I mean, I hope he does well with Tesla," Trump said. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider
The Verge
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Verge
Let's all do a dramatic reading of Trump and Musk's mean posts
Donald Trump and Elon Musk, two of the most media-addled personalities of our tim e, are publicly torching their relationship by posting on the public social media networks they each respectively own. I have seen theories that this is kayfabe, and I don't buy it. Trump and Musk have publicly shit-talked people, including each other, before turning around and working with them. But this is real; threats are being made. I'm just not sure how serious it is. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' Let's back up. Starting last week, Musk began making escalating angry remarks about the Big Beautiful Bill that eliminated the EV tax credits. Trump, unusually tactful, did not respond. That may have been because Musk has not yet donated $100 million he promised to a Trump-owned PAC. This morning, Trump said he was 'very disappointed with Elon,' who 'knew this bill better than anyone.' 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump added. Trump had hardly finished speaking when Musk went on X, his social media network, to say 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' He went on to say that without him, 'Trump would have lost the election.' Musk also unfollowed Stephen Miller on X, as well as the pundit Charlie Kirk. He retweeted old clips of himself saying that the federal deficit needed to come down, and put up a poll: 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?' The poll is, as of this writing, pinned to Musk's profile. 'Yes' is in the lead with 83 percent of the votes. Now, both of these men are excellent at commanding attention, and this is a reality-TV squabble playing out on social media. It is also deeply petty. But a government contractor, one whose business empire is extremely dependent on federal contracts, posting about the deficit is serving up a nice volley. Trump spiked it. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'I was always surprised Biden didn't do it.' Trump also said he'd asked Musk to leave government, and Musk 'just went CRAZY!' I would question the use of 'went' in that sentence but sure. That's a pretty actionable threat. (Also jawboning, though at this point who's keeping track?) It would probably fuck up what's left of NASA in a pretty significant way, but whatever. Musk responded, 'Go ahead, make my day.' Then, he posted, 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' Musk has also dined with Epstein, and has been subpoenaed for document s in an Epstein-related lawsuit. Who's winning? Well, Tesla stock declined 14 percent today, closing at $284.70. Trump can hurt Musk imminently, and not just with the spending bill. Musk, The Washington Post reported, began his career in the US by working here illegally. That could potentially complicate his naturalization and create grounds for the Trump government to strip him of his citizenship, and possibly even deport him back to South Africa. Would that be legal? It seems pretty clear that ICE doesn't care. I wonder what kind of dirt they have on each other Musk, on the other hand, hasn't sent that $100 million check, and may choose not to after this contretemps. He also has enough money to fund primary challenges all over the country, as well as engage in aggressive lobbying against the bill — or any future pet Trump project. If SpaceX contracts are canceled, that may strand some military satellites, too. As if that isn't enough, the two of them have been thick as thieves for at least a year now. The current beef involves a lot of public information. (Trump was known to be pals with Epstein; Musk's allegation that it's why the files weren't released is new.) I wonder what kind of dirt they have on each other from spending all that time together, and I wonder how much destruction that information could wreak. Meanwhile, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are attempting to subpoena Musk. Nancy Mace (R-SC) suspended the hearing to give Republicans time to arrive and vote against the subpoena. Should Trump demand it, it's easy to imagine another vote happening — one that hauls Musk in front of Congress. Also, an alleged member of Musk's coterie of baby mamas has chosen to weigh in on Twitter. Ashley St. Clair, who is currently engaged in a paternity suit with Musk, wrote on X, 'hey @realDonaldTrump lmk if u need any breakup advice.'
