Our turn? (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Obliteration Day: Elon Musk’s spat with Trump wiped $152 billion from Tesla

That’s the largest one-day drop on record for the EV maker.

6/6/25 7:19AM

Yesterday’s unbelievable, unhinged, and entirely unmissable social media spat between Elon Musk and President Trump crescendoed when the Tesla boss alleged that the president’s name shows up in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.

Have a nice day, DJT!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

Even before that bombshell moment, the feud between kingmaker and king, which on the surface seemed to flare up over the impending budget bill, had already done serious damage to the market’s view of the Tesla business, with the stock dipping on the very first salvo from Musk.

As Trump retaliated live — on his own social media platform, where he threatened to take away government subsidies and contracts awarded to Musk’s businesses — Tesla’s stock sank further, eventually closing down 14% for the day.

All told, the spat equated to a $152 billion loss in market cap yesterday. As Sherwood News’ Walt Hickey pointed out, that instantly makes some of Musk’s statements pretty strong contenders for the most expensive tweets ever sent.

Though it’s not the largest one-day percentage drop in Tesla’s stock in sheer dollar terms — that was a 21% decline on September 8, 2021, when the EV maker was refused entry into the S&P 500 Index — it is unrivaled. The stock has since pared some of its losses, trading 6% higher overnight.

Thank u, X

It wasn’t just Tesla that was impacted: an entire swath of “Trump trades” slumped on the dispute, including Trump Media & Technology Group, Palantir, bitcoin, and more.

Rani Molla

9/2/25

Google soars on court ruling that doesn’t force the search giant to sell Chrome

Google has $26 billion in deals with companies like Samsung and Apple.

Max Knoblauch

8/21/25

Hertz falls, erasing its Amazon bump, as Congress looks into its AI damage scanners

Hertz shares are trading down more than 5% on Thursday.

Max Knoblauch

8/20/25

Airbus faces a 10-day strike from UK workers, mirroring Boeing’s labor strife

Thousands of UK union Airbus workers plan to strike for 10 days in September amid a contract dispute.

The union workers build wings for Airbus’ commercial jets, threatening a production slowdown for the European plane maker.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

Airbus UK workers to strike for 10 days over pay

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

Rani Molla

8/20/25

Elon Musk’s political party isn’t happening, as Tesla CEO gives up on the “America Party”

In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his own political party, the America Party — a move intended to “give you back your freedom.” What it did at the time was invoke the wrath of President Donald Trump and send the stock down.

A month and a half later, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Musk is “pumping the brakes” on his third party.

According to the Journal, “Musk has told allies that he wants to focus his attention on his companies and is reluctant to alienate powerful Republicans by starting a third party that could siphon off GOP voters.” He also wants to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate for 2028.

What happened?

For one, earlier this month Tesla’s board approved a roughly $30 billion interim pay package that Musk will only realize if he remains at the company for two years.

The stock isn’t moving on the news so far, but investors and analysts typically see Musk’s focus on his public company as a good thing.

Exclusive | Elon Musk Pledged to Start a Political Party. He Is Already Pumping the Brakes.

What happened?

For one, earlier this month Tesla’s board approved a roughly $30 billion interim pay package that Musk will only realize if he remains at the company for two years.

The stock isn’t moving on the news so far, but investors and analysts typically see Musk’s focus on his public company as a good thing.

Nexstar, the US’s largest local TV broadcaster, is looking to get bigger with a $6.2 billion megamerger

TV broadcaster Nexstar plans to merge with smaller rival Tegna, testing the Trump administration’s consolidation appetite.

Max Knoblauch8/19/25