Elon Musk speaks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as they watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Shares of Tesla were under pressure on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said in a late-night social media post that the federal government should look into cutting subsidies for Elon Musk’s companies.
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” the Truth Social post said.
“DOGE” refers to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk led early in Trump’s administration before leaving his government role in late May
Tesla’s stock was down nearly 5% on Tuesday. Some of Musk’s other ventures, including SpaceX and Starlink, are heavily reliant on government policy decisions.
Tesla’s stock was under pressure on Tuesday morning.
Trump appeared to reiterate his idea to cut the subsidies when speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning.
“He’s upset that he’s losing his EV mandate … but he can lose a lot more than that, I can tell you. Elon can lose a lot more than that,” Trump said.
Trump expanded on his comments again later Tuesday morning.
“I think what’s going to happen is DOGE is going to look at Musk. And if DOGE looks at Musk, we’re going to save a fortune. … I don’t think he should be playing that game with me,” Trump told reporters.
Musk, who campaigned with Trump in 2024, has been publicly critical of the tax and spending bill making its way through Congress. The legislation appears set to cut government support for green energy and electric cars while raising the projected federal deficit, relative to current law.
On social media site X, Musk responded to a screenshot of Trump’s post with “I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now.”
Musk’s criticism of the administration’s spending plans appeared to be one reason for a public feud in early June, which led to a sell-off in Tesla’s stock. Then, tensions appeared to cool, and Tesla shares had rebounded more than 11% since June 5.
However, the Tesla CEO has started his criticism of the tax bill again, and also taken aim at the Republican Party. On Monday, Musk said on X that it was “time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed reporting.