Even Wall Street Has Had It With Elon Musk

Here’s more on what might be causing this fairly massive selloff, from CNN:

The drop in share price probably reflects the concern that Musk has been much a more visible – and polarizing – figure in the Trump administration than he was expected to be immediately after the election. Many investors likely figured Musk would be a more traditional “behind the scenes” kind of adviser, not necessarily taking an active role in enacting controversial policies. Musk had enough other business interests, running companies ranging from Tesla to SpaceX to Neuralink to X, to keep him occupied.

But the drop in Tesla’s value is also a sign of the headwinds the company is facing, in addition to increased competition from other automakers, especially those from China, who have made significant gains in their home market and in Europe as well.

Lest we forget that all of this is happening as global sales continue to tank — especially in Europe. Despite the fact European EV sales jumped 34 percent in January, Tesla sales fell 50 percent in that market. They also fell 29 percent in China, the Austin, Texas-based automaker’s second-largest market after the U.S., in the first couple of months of 2025. That’s, uh, not great.