Tesla CEO Elon Musk wears a hat with the word “American Bay” when he attends a cabinet meeting held by US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC on April 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein |Reuters
Tesla Shares rose more than 3% on Friday after the threat and humiliation between CEOs Elon Musk and President Donald Trump promoted a $152 billion defeat a day ago.
The stock closed more than 14% in a week, falling approximately 27% that year.
“I think the real story here is the foundation of Tesla investors,” Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and CNBC Pro, said on Friday CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “This isn’t a stock yet.”
Analysts cited Politico’s report that Trump called on Friday to mediate a ceasefire with Musk. However, a senior White House official told NBC News on Friday that Trump was “not interested” in the call for masks.
“The mask needs Trump, Trump needs musk for many reasons, and it would be a great relief for Tesla’s stock to have these two become friends again,” Wedbush Securities Analyst Dan Ives wrote Friday morning. “We will be closely monitoring the situation today, but we believe that Tesla shares are being sold in this news.”
Musk spent several days attacking the president’s signature tax and spending bill, calling it “nasty hatred” after Tesla’s tenure ended last week as head of the U.S. Government Office.
The war of words between Musk and Trump exploded on Thursday when Trump played Musk’s criticism in person.
Tesla 5 Day Stock Chart.
“I’m extremely disappointed in Elon. I helped Elon a lot,” Trump said, adding that Musk is upset at the exclusion of EV credits in the budget bill.
Musk responded to the president’s jab in real time, and the tone escalated.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” Musk wrote on X.
Musk later pointed out that Trump should be fired each, claiming that the president was “in Epstein’s file,” referring to records relating to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump has denied Epstein’s involvement in criminal activities, and Musk provided no evidence to support his claim.
Trump responded to his own social media platform, True Social.
“The easiest way to save money on our budget, billions, billions of dollars is to end Elon’s government subsidies and contracts,” writes Trump. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do that!”
Tesla slides across public conflicts, closing 14%, falling below the company’s market capitalization below the $1 trillion benchmark.
