Tesla stock slides over 5% after Elon Musk criticizes Donald Trump, President says he's disappointed

Tesla shares dropped over 5% on Thursday after investors noticed the growing tensions between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and US president Donald Trump, as per a report. The slide comes as Musk openly criticized Trump’s massive tax legislation, stirring speculation that the once-friendly relationship between them may be coming to an end, according to a Reuters report.

Tesla Shares Drop Over 5% Amid Musk-Trump Fallout

Musk, who called himself Trump’s “First Buddy” and led the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, took to his social media platform X to call the legislation a “disgusting abomination,” as per the report. The Tesla CEO said, "It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team at great personal cost and risk," as quoted by Reuters.

Trump responded by pointing out that Musk was upset because the bill would remove the electric vehicle mandates and said, "Don't know if we'll have a great relationship anymore," as quoted in the report.

ALSO READ: Cargo ship carrying electric vehicles catches fire off Alaska – key points you need to know

Donald Trump Is Very Disappointed With Elon Musk

The US president also told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that, "I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot. He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem & he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to cut EV mandate," as per a post shared by Musk on his X account.

Musk Denies Being Consulted on the Bill

Musk went on to respond to Trump's accusations on X, by saying, "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!" as per Musk's X post.

Analysts Weigh In on Risks for Tesla

While, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, Jed Ellerbroe told Reuters, "The budget bill contains bad stuff for Tesla with the end of the EV credits, and just generally his falling out with Trump has risks for Tesla and Elon's other companies," as quoted in the report.

FAQs

Why did Tesla’s stock drop over 5% today?
Investors are worried because Elon Musk publicly criticized President Trump’s tax bill as the tension might hurt Tesla’s business.

What did Elon Musk say about the tax bill?
He called it a “disgusting abomination” and said it cancels out cost savings his government efficiency team worked hard to achieve.