Tesla stock claws back 6% after $150B wipeout as Elon Musk-Trump feud escalates

Shares of electric vehicles giant Tesla tried to claw back some lost ground on Friday, a day after a historic rout that wiped out a staggering $150 billion from the Elon Musk-owned automaker’s market value. On Friday, the stock surged 6.9% in early trading on NASDAQ, but the scrip tempered its value a little by settling around a 5.9% gain to $301.56 by midday. The rebound in Tesla’s share price seems to have happened after news reports emerged that there have been attempts made to strike some kind of a rapprochement between Musk and U.S. President, Donald Trump.

Thursday’s historic sell-off occurred after the relationship between Musk and Trump imploded in full public view. 

Thursday’s market collapse was among Tesla’s sharpest single-day declines, with shares plunging 14.2%. This followed an unprecedented day of mudslinging and innuendoes between Musk and Trump.

The two former allies exchanged insults and policy threats across their social media platforms, rattling investors. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, hinted at slashing federal contracts and subsidies critical to both Tesla and SpaceX — companies that have long benefited from government support. Musk responded by threatening to suspend key NASA transport missions facilitated by SpaceX, though he later walked back that statement.

Musk also escalated tensions further by calling for Trump’s impeachment, criticising his trade policies, and dredging up past allegations linking the president to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a claim Trump has denied.

On Friday, White House officials, speaking to Politico and Reuters, indicated that a call between Musk and Trump had been scheduled for Friday, prompting optimism over a possible truce. CNN even reported that allies in the White House of the two former friends have been trying to mediate between the two. However, those reports have, since then, been repudiated. Trump, in an interview to ABC on Friday, quelled these growing rumours by saying that he ‘had no particular interest’ in engaging with Musk, deriding his former friend and biggest supporter as ‘the man who has lost his mind.’ Later, the New York Times, citing an administration official, reported that Trump had sold his personal red Tesla vehicle.

In the run up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections, which Trump won by a landslide, Musk had emerged as one of the biggest supporters of the Make America Great Again movement, donating millions of dollars into Trump’s campaign. This marked the growing proximity between the two mercurial men, which, eventually, came crashing down on Thursday.