Tesla Shares Tumble As Elon Musk's Feud With Donald Trump Escalates in Public

Long gone are the days when Elon Musk labeled himself the president's "first buddy." The big man at the White House must have erased from his memory the time when he bought two Teslas to show his support of the backlashed automaker and said out loud, "Elon can stay for as long as he wants."

Earlier this week, the Tesla CEO complained about the bureaucracy at the White House as he announced his breakup with the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) and his departure from Washington. The war between him and the most powerful man in the US was not going to stop right then and there. In fact, it was just the beginning.

Donald Trump took to his own online platform, Truth Social, to say "the easiest way to save money on our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental subsidies and contracts." He also added that he was very disappointed with the tech billionaire, who criticized the "big beautiful bill" and the spending cuts package.

Musk failed to count to ten and take a deep breath. He instantly fired back at the president, dropping the bomb: Donald Trump "is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" was his shocking reply, hinting at the fact that he knows dangerous things about the president. "The truth will come out," he added. 

Names of several powerful people, previously associated with Jefferey Epstein, have been mentioned in court documents related to the trial involving sexual abuse. Last year, the president denied any connection with Epstein.

Elon Musk went as far as threatening to decommission Dragon, the SpaceX's spacecraft that ferries cargo and people to the International Space Station for the US, but backed down hours later.
A cease fire strategy was the last thing on the Tesla's CEO mind, so he uploaded a survey, asking, "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" He asked, offering "Yes" and "No" options.

Musk says Donald Trump would have lost he elections without him, after he spent more than $270 million to back Trump and other Republicans during the 2024 election and slams him for "such ingratitude."

"We had a great relationship, I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters this morning in the Oval Office before saying that his former "first buddy" went "crazy" and suggested cutting government contracts for his companies. The cut reportedly sparked fear among Tesla's investors. 

Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and space exploration and satellite-communication company SpaceX, founded tunnel-digger The Boring Company, artificial-intelligence company xAI, and tech firm Neuralink. He also owns the social media platform X since 2022, when he lifted Donald Trump's previously imposed ban.

The New York Times reported that SpaceX is one of the country’s largest federal contractors, securing $3.8 billion over hundreds of government contracts in fiscal year 2024 alone. Furthermore, an analysis carried out by Washington post showed that Elon Musk's business empire received $38 billion in government funding. 

Tesla takes massive hit as shares plunge
The political tensions into which its Tesla's CEO dragged the automaker have seriously harmed it over the past few months. Customers have started boycotting the brand, while the Tesla-badged models have been victims of vandalism. While sales have been plunging in Europe and China, the billionaires' ridiculous online war is a ticking bomb for Tesla.

The brand's shares are nosediving fast and hard, ending the day down 14% and losing $150 billion in market value on Thursday, in one of the worst days in months, as traders dumped the stock in heavy trading after news about cracks in the Donald Trump-Elon Musk bromance.

ABC reports that the two have not spoken since Thursday morning. Multiple administration officials have reportedly tried to contact Musk, but their calls and texts have not been returned. Trump was planning a press conference with Elon Musk on Friday. It seems that the online battlefield has just replaced.

To cut down the investors’ discontent with him focusing too much on DOGE and not enough on Tesla, Musk announced he would be spending less time at the White House and more with the automaker. Little did we know back then that it was the beginning of the end.