Tesla tumbles again as investors bail on Musk’s suddenly struggling EV company

A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in Lisbon

Shares of Tesla slid again Monday as confidence in Elon Musk’s electric car company continues to disintegrate following a post-election “Trump bump.”

Tesla shares tumbled 15.4%, to $222.15. That’s the lowest Tesla shares have traded since late October, reflecting investors’ newfound pessimism as the automaker’s sales crater around the globe. The decline, Tesla’s steepest since September 2020, came with Wall Street in the midst of a sell-off caused by uncertainty over the Trump administration’s trade policies.

Many analysts have attributed Tesla’s sagging stock — and auto sales — to Musk’s support of President Donald Trump and other far right candidates around the world.

Musk pumped $270 million into Trump’s campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November. Tesla stock soared to $479 per share by mid-December, but have since tumbled back to earth, losing 40% of their value.

Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn government downsizing efforts, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The department has promised massive federal worker layoffs and aims to drastically reduce government spending.

Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy, environmentally-conscious liberals who have turned to electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

Tesla sales are falling in California, the company’s biggest U.S. market, and the company recorded its first annual global sales decline last year. Similarly, Tesla sales plunged 45% in Europe in January, according to research firm Jato Dynamics, even as overall electric vehicle sales rose. The sales numbers were particularly bad in Germany and France.

The latest auto sales figure from China show that Tesla sales there have been nearly halved from February a year ago, although the decline is due increased local competition and not tied to Musk’s politics.

Now, Wall Street analysts are concerned about a drop in Tesla deliveries in the U.S. Analysts at UBS Global Research expect deliveries to fall 5% in the first quarter and full year compared to the same periods for 2024.

“Our UBS Evidence Lab data shows low delivery times for the Model 3 and Model Y (generally within two weeks) in key markets which we believe is indicative of softer demand,” they wrote.

Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters, its vehicles vandalized and bumper stickers appearing on its cars with sayings such as, “I bought it before Elon went nuts.”

In addition to backing Trump, Musk has also shown support for the far-right, pro-Russian, anti-Muslim party in German y, called the British p rime minister an “evil tyrant” and called Canada — a major Tesla market —”not a real country.”

Tesla is not the only Musk-led company to run into trouble recently. His X social media platform crashed several times on Monday, which Musk blamed on a “massive” cyberattack.

Last week, a rocket launched by Musk’s SpaceX exploded and broke apart over Florida, about two months after another of the company’s rockets failed. MDT/AP