This week saw a propping up of Tesla (TSLA) shares; it appears investors are putting behind the heated public altercation that occurred between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. Tesla's shares have incrementally increased by 8% this week, regaining more than half of the losses realized last week, subsequent to a string of vitriolic social media exchanges between Trump and Musk. The intense row, which began as a disagreement over Trump’s "Big Beautiful" tax-and-spending bill, snowballed into Musk accusing the president, via a post now scrapped, of being named in the "Epstein files." The spat eventually led to a substantial loss for Tesla, which saw more than $150 billion wiped off its valuation in a single day, booting the company out of the prestigious $1 trillion market cap club.
This week has witnessed a thawing of the tensions, at least on the social media frontlines, as Musk admits regret over some of his controversial tweets and further took the time to re-share Trump's criticism of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. This year has, however, been a see-saw for Tesla's share value. A grim first quarter witnessed a 35% decrease after sales plunged, the stock market took a hit from tariffs, and controversies pivoted around Musk. April and May saw the stock make a comeback following Musk's declaration that he would be stepping back from Washington.
In recent Friday trading, shares have seen a 2% increase, though they are still 20% down for 2025.