CNN reports:

Liberals and government employees aren’t the only people angry with Elon Musk. Tesla’s plunging share price means many investors are angry, too.

Shares of Tesla shot up 91% after election day, peaking just before Christmas, as investors anticipated Musk and his car company would be big winners as a result of Donald Trump’s second term as president. Musk was Trump’s largest financial supporter during the campaign, and has since become the highest-profile member of his administration, by far. In his role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE), he has been trying to impose deep cuts in spending that had been previously approved by Congress, laying off thousands of federal workers.

But shares tumbled 5.6% in trading Thursday and are now down 45% from their December peak, giving up 96% of that post-election bump. Just since Trump took office and Musk began wielding power they have lost 38% of their overall value.

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. [Continue reading…]

The New York Times reports:

Tesla’s sales in Germany plunged in February, part of a wider slump across Europe that has undercut the company’s share price and highlighted anger at the political activities of Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive.

Sales of Tesla cars in Germany, Europe’s largest market for electric vehicles, dove 76 percent in February compared with a year earlier, the German Association of the Automotive Industry said Wednesday. The U.S. carmaker’s sales in the country have fallen two months in a row.

Demand for Teslas has also dropped in other European countries since Mr. Musk became a de facto member of President Trump’s cabinet and ramped up promotion of far-right parties in Europe and elsewhere on X, the social media platform he owns. [Continue reading…]