Topline
Tesla stock and the net worth of the automaker’s CEO Elon Musk sank Monday after Musk launched a new political party, as Wall Street increasingly expresses fatigue at the controversy-stirring political activities of Musk.
The second Trump presidency hasn’t been the boon for former “first buddy” Elon Musk’s Tesla stock ... More investors had hoped, as shares are down more than 30% since Inauguration Day.
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts
In an otherwise largely flat morning for the broader market, Tesla stock fell 7%, or about $24 per share, in response to Musk’s unveiling of his “America Party” and the subsequent sparring between Musk and President Donald Trump, who Musk donated $288 million to help elect last year.
“Investors are growing tired of the distraction” from Musk, William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer wrote in a Monday note to clients downgrading his rating for Tesla stock from a buy to a hold on the less favorably federal regulatory credit environment for electric vehicles in Trump’s megabill signed last week.
Musk’s net worth tumbled $14 billion Monday to $391 billion, which is still the largest fortune in the world by a more than $100 billion margin, according to Forbes’ latest estimates.
Despite the initial enthusiasm for the self-proclaimed “first buddy” Musk and what his cozy White House role would mean for Tesla stock, it’s been a dark stretch for Tesla investors, with shares down 32% since Inauguration Day, far worse than the S&P 500 benchmark’s 4% advance.
Crucial Quote
“Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors/ shareholders want him to take,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, long one of the most bullish analysts covering Tesla, wrote Sunday.
Big Number
55%. That’s the proportion of Americans who hold an unfavorable view of Musk compared to 37% of those with favorable opinions and 8% with no take, according to Silver Bulletin’s weighted average of dozens of polls on Musk. Just 45% of Americans had an unfavorable view of Musk at the end of last year as his favorability fell among Democrats, Republicans and independents declined during 2025’s first half.
Key Background
The across-the-board souring on Musk translated into dim sales for Tesla vehicles, as the company logged its worst-ever annual vehicle delivery declines in each of 2025’s first two quarters. Citing a “troubling trend” in sales data, J.P. Morgan analysts predicted Monday this will be Tesla’s worst year for deliveries since 2022. The Musk-Trump alliance started to unravel in June over fiscal hawk Musk’s disagreement with Trump’s spending package, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will widen the national debt by $3.4 trillion. After the pair appeared to make nice, the feud escalated again last week, culminating in Trump calling Musk a “TRAIN WRECK” and Musk apparently accusing the Trump administration of lying about the contents of the Epstein Files, referring to the documents surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein which Musk claimed implicated Trump in a since-deleted post.
Surprising Fact
Musk lost nearly as much in his personal net worth Monday than the $15 billion total market value of Rivian, Tesla’s top American EV competitor.
Further Reading
ForbesElon Musk (And Tesla) Became Much More Unpopular —As Unfavorability Soars To 55%By Derek Saul