Outlook Business Desk
Elon Musk's net worth drop by $120 billion driven by Tesla's falling stock price and growing political scrutiny. Tech billionaire faced a major blow as Tesla shares dropped over 15% while his social media platform X suffered significant outages.
Elon Musk is under growing pressure from multiple challenges including declining sales, political backlash over his ties to the Trump administration and rising doubts about Tesla's high valuation.
Musk's ties to the Trump administration are driving away consumers especially after his appointment as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) a controversial initiative aimed at cutting federal agencies.
In China, Tesla is losing market share as locals rivals introduce more affordable and technologically advanced EVs. Competiton is heating up with BYD surpassing Tesla in EV sales and providing advanced driver assistance technology for free posing a direct challenge to Tesla's costly full self-driving package.
Elon Musk budget cuts and layoffs have sparked nationwide Tesla protests. The #TeslaTakedown movement is growing urging owners to abandon their cars and investors to sell shares. Protesters rallied outside showrooms holding signs like "Stop Musk's Crime Spree" & "Elon is Trump's Executioner."
Tesla is struggling to keep up in crucial areas. It's much anticipated $25,000 EV was quietly scrapped last year. Despite Tesla's strong focus on robotics and AI-driven vehicles these efforts have yet to generate substantial revenue making its high stock valuation increasingly difficult to justify.
Despite aggressive price cuts and financing incentives like 0% financing & free supercharging Tesla's delivery number continue to decline. In the US the company has adopted aggressive strategies including steep discounts to sustain demand.
Despite these setbacks, Musk appears indifferent. According to Axios, even after losing $16 billion in net worth, he showed no concern. In a Fox Business interview about Tesla's struggles, he brushed it off with humor quoting Monty Python "Always look on the bright side of life."