Trump backs Musk with Tesla purchase amid stock plunge
Donald Trump has announced that he will purchase a "brand new" Tesla. By doing so, the former President of the USA aims to show support for Elon Musk. Tesla's share price dropped by 15 percent on Monday, the company's roughest day in four years.
It was not a favourable Monday for Elon Musk. Tesla's shares plunged by 15 per cent at the close of the day, and since the start of the year, they have fallen by more than 40 per cent. Additionally, there was a failure with the social networking service X. Users faced difficulties accessing the platform for most of the day, and Musk himself revealed that a cyberattack had occurred. According to the richest man in the world, the attack reportedly originated from IP addresses located in Ukraine. However, a group of hackers known as Dark Storm, which has ties to Russia and supports Palestine, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Donald Trump, aware of the challenges faced by his close associate, posted on social media that night that he plans to buy a new Tesla the following morning (11 March—editor's note) "as a sign of trust and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American."
Trump questions why Musk "should be penalised for utilising his immense skills to make America great again." According to the Republican, the boycott of Tesla is being propelled by "radical left-wing lunatics." Furthermore, Trump contends that the boycott is illegal.
Bloomberg Agency reminds us that Musk contributed nearly $300 million to Trump's campaign committee.
Tesla's stock plummeted
Tesla shares fell by 15 percent on Monday. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's wealth has decreased by approximately €125.16 billion since January.
"In addition to disruptions related to changing over its most important model to a new design, blowback against Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is hurting Tesla’s standing in some of the world’s biggest EV markets early this year," notes Bloomberg.
In Germany, sales have decreased by 70 percent. This decline is attributed to Musk's support on the X platform for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) before the recent parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, in China, where Tesla is striving to compete with domestic company BYD, deliveries of new cars dropped by 49 percent in February to around 30,700 vehicles. This is the lowest monthly figure since July 2022.
This year, Tesla's shares have fallen by 45 per cent, erasing the gains made since Trump's election victory in November. Musk revealed on Fox Business that he is "having a very tough time" managing his companies while also focusing on DOGE - the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to implement significant budget cuts. Officially, Musk holds no formal position in DOGE, as the administrative director is an official named Amy Gleason.
