Reignited Trump-Musk feud burns Tesla investors, shares of EV company tumble 8 pc
New York, Jul 7 (AP): Shares of Tesla tumbled 8 per cent at the opening bell Monday as the feud between CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump reignited over the weekend.
Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, announced that he was forming a third political party in protest over the Republican spending bill that passed late last week. Musk has been highly critical of the bill, which he said would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said that the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X had gone “off the rails” in recent weeks.
Investors fear that Musk's companies, which receive significant subsidies from the federal government, could suffer further if his feud with Trump continues to fester.
"With the autonomous future ahead and the AI Revolution in full force Musk/Tesla do not need to keep poking the bear as Trump can create more hurdles for Musk/Tesla/SpaceX over the coming years if this political battle gets nastier heading into mid-terms in 2026," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to clients late Sunday.
Tesla shares have been extremely volatile since Musk went all-in for Trump in the run-up to last year's election with the company facing a growing backlash as a result of Musk's embrace of right-wing politics and his role in the Trump administration.
Tesla sales plunged 13 per cent in the first quarter, and then repeated that performance in the second quarter, even though EV sales continue to rise for competitors, including big Detroit automakers.
Industry analysts believe a large part of that tail off is being driven by Musk's affiliation with Trump and far-right parties like Germany AfD.
Tesla is also facing rising competition globally, particularly from Chinese automakers such as BYD and Great Wall, which are quickly expanding globally, offering relatively affordable electric vehicles with ultra-fast battery charging systems.
Since hitting an all-time high of USD 479.76 on December 17, Tesla shares have lost about 40 per cent of their value. Tesla shares are down about USD 26 each since Thursday's close, to USD 289.75.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
