Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
Shares of Tesla slid about 5% Thursday as CEO Elon Musk continued his relentless pressure on Congress to “KILL” President Donald Trump‘s spending bill.
Musk in recent days has threatened to primary lawmakers who vote for the bill and called it a “disgusting abomination,” marking a significant shift in his comments about the administration.
The fall in shares comes as the EV maker saw a 22% rally in May despite weak sales numbers, with Musk wrapping his time as Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Shares are down more than 20% this year and well off the high of $488.54 reached on Dec. 18.
Since Musk’s special government employee term ended Friday, he’s appeared at odds with the Trump administration and gone on a full assault against the president’s signature tax-cut bill.
“One of the things about Elon is when he goes all in, he goes all in,” Walter Isaacson, who wrote a book about Musk, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday.
“He is somebody who’s not exactly calibrated in these things and he is seriously upset,” Isaacson said.
The SpaceX and xAI CEO posted a stream of attacks against the Trump bill on X Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tesla is facing more fundamental problems with plummeting sales of its electric vehicles in major markets in Europe, and a declining brand reputation in the West.
Tesla is also under pressure to launch a long-delayed, driverless ride hailing service this month in Austin.
While Musk has said that Tesla is already testing driverless vehicles in that market, its primary competitor Waymo is already operating a major commercial robotaxi service there in partnership with Uber.
