Tesla's roller coaster of a year continued after CEO Elon Musk began publicly feuding with President Donald Trump on the social platform X at the beginning of June. The spat caused Tesla — along with the cryptocurrency TrumpCoin — to plummet in value, as Wired detailed.
In the two weeks since, the rift grew and then shrank following an apology from Musk, but even well after the apology, reports have emerged saying that NASA and the Pentagon are conducting deeper reviews of the U.S. government's relationship with Musk's SpaceX, and it stands to reason that other possibilities of favorable deals for Musk's companies — such as the once-reported government Cybertruck orders — may remain at least somewhat diminished.
What's happening?
On June 3, Musk began making his displeasure known with the Congressional spending proposal referred to by Trump as the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
What started as criticism over estimates that the bill would add around $3 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office, quickly devolved into a volatile dispute.
Trump suggested on Truth Social that the government could begin saving money by slashing Musk's governmental subsidies and contracts, according to CNN, which lays out a timeline of the social media-driven spat.
In a now-deleted post, Musk took the disagreement to a climax when he alleged without evidence that Trump was in the unreleased parts of the Epstein files (documents with information about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his network).
How did the dispute impact Tesla stocks?
Wired reports that Tesla lost $152 billion in value from its market cap within hours, while TrumpCoin saw $100-plus million in value go down the drain. As time passed and things began to cool off, both began to rebound, though neither has completely regained the value it was at before the rift began.
On June 11, Musk took to X once again — this time to apologize to Trump. "I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," he wrote.
While Trump initially declined to take a phone call from Musk after Musk claimed he was in the Epstein files, according to media reports, and suggested his relationship with Musk was over, it appears the door may be open for some sort of reconciliation.
After Musk posted his remorse, Trump told the New York Post, "... It was very nice that he did that." The New York Times also reported the pair talked before Musk apologized on X.
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Elon is the man 🥰 Still, Reuters reported two days later that NASA and the Department of Defense are undergoing reviews of all government contracts involving Musk's businesses to "ready possible retaliation against the businessman and his companies," with one of Reuters' sources saying the intent is "for political ammunition," an apparent effort to put a proverbial leash and muzzle on Musk from speaking out further.
How could this impact consumers interested in electric vehicles?
Despite Tesla's woeful Q1 sales compared to years past and its fluctuating stocks, analysts project that the electric vehicle market will continue to grow in value. Grand View Research estimates it will experience a compound annual growth rate of 32.5% from 2025 to 2030.
While government incentives were included as part of that analysis — incentives that may not be available to U.S. consumers much longer if scrapped as part of the Big Beautiful Bill — consumers still have plenty of reasons to make their next car an EV.
For one, EVs have fewer moving parts and don't need oil changes, so they require less maintenance than gas-powered vehicles. They also have drastically lower energy costs. All in all, this can add up to around $1,500 in savings each year.
Moreover, EVs don't release exhaust fumes linked to asthma and other health issues, contributing to cleaner air while reducing the heat-trapping pollution that is causing the Earth to overheat.
However, it remains to be seen if Tesla will be able to recapture the magic that made it a forerunner in a practically nonexistent EV industry.
While Tesla is beginning to focus more on autonomous technology over EVs as part of its future business plans, Musk's involvement in politics and insult-laden X posts have also created an unfavorable image of the brand in the eyes of many consumers and investors.
"We are concerned that the war of words between President Trump and Elon Musk, along with the expiration of EV credits, could further weaken demand for new Teslas," Baird and Argus Research analyst Bill Selesky wrote in mid-June, referring to Musk as a "lightning rod for criticism," per The Motley Fool.
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