Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc., has seen the value of his ownership share in the electric vehicle manufacturer plummet due to a continuing backlash against his leadership position in the contentious Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk, one of the most well-known individuals in the Trump administration, has destroyed thousands of federal jobs and government-funded initiatives through DOGE.
Widespread “Tesla Takedown” protests against Musk have been triggered by the backlash, which has made Tesla’s stock a political football. Although there have been some counterprotests in favor of Musk and Tesla, Musk has lost billions and billions of dollars, or around a fifth of his wealth, as a result.
After falling 17.5% over the previous three sessions, Tesla shares (TSLA) closed Monday’s trading session down 2.6%. Wall Street sees DOGE as a diversion for Musk at a time when Tesla is experiencing declining sales and more competition, which is why the stock has already fallen 45.3% since Trump’s inauguration in January.
Since Trump was elected president, Musk’s investment in Tesla has lost around $79.4 billion in value. Musk holds just under 410.8 million shares, or 12.8% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Musk remains the richest person in the world. But according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth has dropped to $298 billion from above $300 billion earlier this week.
Tuesday’s premarket saw a 3.8% bounce in the stock.
However, while Musk gets criticized and his supporters, including Trump, defend him—most notably in a recent photo op supporting Tesla on the White House lawn—Tesla’s stock continues to be in the public eye.
Given the chaos surrounding Musk and the “double whammy” of Trump’s tariffs, Wedbush analyst and veteran Tesla bull Dan Ives lowered his price objective for the EV maker’s stock by 43% to $315 on Monday.
“Tesla has unfortunately become a political symbol because of Musk and this is a very bad thing for the future of this technology stalwart,” Ives stated. “With major protests erupting globally at Tesla dealerships, Tesla cars being keyed, and a full brand crisis tornado turning into a life of its own this has cast a dark black cloud over Tesla’s stock.”
Since his revised price target suggests a 35% increase from present levels, Ives remains officially optimistic on the company.
Thirteen are negative, fifteen are neutral, and 29 are optimistic on Tesla’s shares, according to a FactSet survey of 57 analysts who follow the company.
There are still protests against Musk, big and small. A tiny group of individuals staged a lunchtime protest outside a Tesla service center in Gowanus, Brooklyn, on Tuesday. “Right now, it’s all about visibility and awareness,” Kirsten Hassenfeld, the Gowanus protest organizer, told MarketWatch. “We have very little agency to push back against DOGE.”
The five protestors were receiving a lot of support from oncoming traffic, but one person in a Tesla also yelled angrily, “Get a job!” above them.
In a phone conversation with MarketWatch, protester Jen, who has coordinated three demonstrations in Canada, stated that she felt she “needed to do more than just passive action.”
She refused to provide her last name. “I have never organized anything in my life until doing this,” the demonstrator claimed. Musk’s claim that protesters are being paid was dismissed by her. “Are you paid? “When will my check arrive?” she joked. “We’re willing to hate Elon for free.”
On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Musk supporters have been forming counterprotests. The Alachua County Republican Party staged a counterprotest outside a Tesla service center in Gainesville, Florida, on March 29, the day that organizers of the Tesla Takedown declared a “day of action” against Musk and his business.
Tim Marden, the group’s leader, told MarketWatch that one of its members came up with the idea after hearing about protests and “negativity” at Tesla outlets, along with destruction at some of those places.
“We just wanted to bring a more positive element, to push back against that narrative,” Marden stated.
According to Marden, the counterprotest drew about 150 participants, some of whom had come 50 miles. On the opposite side of the street, anti-Musk demonstrators were equally numerous, according to the Gainesville Sun.
Marden told MarketWatch, “It was a great chance to reaffirm our votes from last November.” “We cannot simply let Trump handle everything. We must fulfill our portion.
