Tesla tumbles again as investors bail on Elon Musk's suddenly struggling
electric vehicle company
[March 11, 2025] 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. Monday's 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.
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A banner is left outside a Tesla showroom during a demonstration, in
Lisbon, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
 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.
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