The stock of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) is being pummeled amid a public feud between company CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Tesla’s share price fell 14% on June 5 as Trump threatened to pull government contracts from the automaker as a heated war of words over social media escalated.
The decline in Tesla’s stock erased $152 billion U.S. in market capitalization, the biggest hit to the company’s market value ever, and dropping it below the $1 trillion U.S. benchmark by which many companies are measured.
The fallout between Trump and Musk began when the Tesla CEO started publicly criticizing the president’s proposed budget bill, which is expected to further inflate the U.S. deficit.
Musk has also called the bill a “disgusting abomination.”
On social media, Trump wrote: “Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!”
For his part, Musk wrote: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
Musk, who is the world’s richest person, has threatened to make lawmakers who vote for Trump’s budget bill face primary election challenges.
Tesla’s share price had marched higher late last year after Trump was re-elected in November and Musk assumed a prominent role in the administration.
Until recently, Musk led Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aimed to find government cost savings and eliminate inefficiencies.
While Musk has recommitted himself to Tesla and his other businesses, the electric vehicle maker faces fundamental problems, with plummeting global sales and a declining brand, say analysts.
Tesla is also under pressure to launch a long-delayed, driverless ride-hailing service.
The stock of Tesla rose more than 20% in May as markets rallied. However, the shares remain down 25% on the year at $284.70 U.S. each.
