Elon Musk loses $34bn in a single day over clash with Trump

Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SpaceX has lost $34 billion in a single day amidst his ongoing feud with the president of the United States (US), Donald Trump.

Bloomberg confirmed this via a report issued on Thursday, June 5.

The sharp drop followed a heated exchange with former President Donald Trump, triggered by a series of controversial posts Musk shared on social media.

In his tweets, Musk accused Trump of having ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a child sex offender and suggested that  Trump played a crucial role in influencing the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

This prompted a swift and harsh reaction from Trump, who responded by threatening to cut off federal contracts with Musk’s companies.

Trump also warned he might eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit, a major incentive for Tesla buyers, introduced under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act during President Biden’s term.

The credit offers up to $7,500 off qualifying EV purchases.

Musk fired back by announcing that SpaceX would shut down its Dragon spacecraft operations.

The dispute led to a steep 14% drop in Tesla’s stock price, wiping out approximately $138 billion in market value.

Bloomberg estimated that $34 billion came from Musk’s personal stake.

This isn’t the first time Musk’s social media activity has had major financial impacts.

He posted a twitter poll earlier nin November 2021, asking if he should sell 10% of his Tesla shares.

After 57% of the 3.5 million voters said ‘yes,’ Tesla’s stock dropped by 16% that week, costing Musk around $50 billion.