Tesla’s stock price has plunged in response to Elon Musk’s announcement of a new political party and his latest attacks on President Donald Trump.
Investors are once again concerned about Musk’s focus as the company’s CEO announced over the weekend that he has launched the America Party.
Tesla shares tanked 8 percent Monday morning to $295 a share. Before the July Fourth weekend began, the electric carmaker’s shares had a high of more than $318, according to Yahoo Finance.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!“ Musk wrote Saturday on X, sharing the results of a poll he conducted.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
After that post, the billionaire launched several attacks on Trump and his Cabinet.
“What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he’s just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??” he posted Sunday evening, referencing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and its forecasted effect on national debt.
On Monday, Musk reacted with a frowning emoji in response to a message that said Trump “used him.”
Musk also responded to a clip of a CNN interview with Scott Bessent in which the treasury secretary said that while the principles of DOGE were popular, its leader was not. “Bessent is a Soros stooge. And he’s a political science major who can’t even do math,” Musk wrote.
He then appeared to deliver a self-own, adding: “The polling for me was very positive a year ago, which is why Trump used me so much.”
He also swiped at Truth Social, Trump’s social media site. “What’s Truth Social? Never heard of it,” the X owner said. That was in response to a post on the site from Trump that labeled Musk a “train wreck.”
Trump also shot down the idea of a third party. “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them,” he wrote.
“The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!”
Dan Ives, an analyst from Wedbush Securities who previously warned that Tesla would be destroyed if Musk continued working at his cost-cutting task force, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said Musk is the company’s “biggest asset” and that his segue into politics could hurt the company.
“Tesla needs Musk as CEO and its biggest asset and not heading down the political route yet again... while at the same time getting on Trump’s bad side,” he said Sunday, according to Reuters.
“It would also not shock us if the Tesla board gets involved at some point given the political nature of this endeavor depending on how far Musk takes it.”
Back in May, disgruntled Tesla shareholders demanded that Musk get back to work after his ill-fated spell working alongside Trump in government.
Musk’s relationship with the president soured in part because Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill increases U.S. debt, despite Musk’s efforts to slash it. The bill also ended a mandate that promoted electric vehicles, further rankling the billionaire.
White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told the Daily Beast the Republican Party is not threatened by Musk’s latest move.
“As the leader of the Republican Party, President Trump has unified and grown the party in a way we’ve never seen,” he said.
“Having earned the largest share of votes for a Republican presidential nominee and secured majorities in the House and Senate, and with his historic domestic policy agenda swiftly and successfully passed through One Big Beautiful Bill with resounding GOP support, the party is stronger than ever and in lockstep with the Trump agenda.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Tesla for comment.
