Tesla’s stock plummeted by over 14% on Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange, wiping out more than $100 billion in its market value amid tensions between Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The dispute escalated during the trading day, beginning with Trump expressing disappointment in his former adviser’s criticism of his mega-tax relief bill, which Musk had described as an abomination.
In response, Musk claimed that Trump would have lost the election without his support.
Trump then threatened to cancel government subsidies and contracts with Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, as a cost-saving measure.
Thursday’s Wall Street session saw considerable volatility. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.3% at 42,319.74 points. The S&P 500 fell by 0.5% to 5,939.30 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by 0.8% to 19,298.45 points.
Initially, the stock prices had shown little movement as investors awaited the US government’s report on jobs, due on Friday. Payroll processor ADP reported on Wednesday that job growth in the US private sector in May had sunk to its lowest level in over two years.
Wall Street rallied briefly after news broke of Trump’s call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which Trump described as a “very good” discussion on trade between the USA and China. He announced that new trade talks between the two countries would take place soon.
