The price of Tesla Inc.’s shares continued to dive on Thursday as the brawl between United States President Donald Trump and billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk continued to heat up. The fight between the two, who were on friendly terms not too long ago, broke out earlier today as Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Musk’s latest comments about his “big beautiful bill.” While the US head of state insisted that the tech mogul was familiar with the details of the legislation, Musk denied this. He then went on to say that Trump would not have won the election without him, asking his followers on X whether the time has come for a new political party to be formed. Trump then threatened to cut contracts and subsidies for Musk’s businesses. The carmaker’s stock plunged 12.40% at 2:50 pm ET, going for $290.70 apiece.
Trump and Musk to speak on Friday after alliance descends into public feud
The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Shares in the electric vehicle maker closed down over 14% on Thursday, losing about $150 billion in market value in the largest single-day decline in value in its history. In pre-market trading on Friday they pared some of those losses, rising as much as 5% after the news that the two men were scheduled to speak. Politico first reported the planned call. Musk had bankrolled a large part of Trump’s presidential campaign and was then brought as one of the president’s most visible advisers, heading up a sweeping and controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. The verbal punches erupted on Thursday after Trump criticized Musk in the Oval Office and the pair then traded barbs on their social media platforms: Trump’s Truth Social and Musk’s X. The falling-out had begun brewing days ago when Musk, who left his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency a week ago, denounced Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The president initially stayed quiet while Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt. Trump broke his silence on Thursday, telling reporters he was “very disappointed” in Musk. “Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said. As Trump spoke, Musk responded on X. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” wrote Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing Trump and other Republicans in last year’s election. In another post, Musk asserted that Trump’s signature import tariffs would push the U.S. into a recession later this year. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump posted.
