Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealerships in the US and Europe to demonstrate against Elon Musk’s involvement in the US government under President Donald Trump. They aimed to diminish the wealth of the world’s richest man through these actions.
These protesters sought to intensify a movement directed at Tesla dealerships and vehicles due to Musk’s leadership in the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In this role, he has access to confidential information and has shut down entire government agencies in an effort to reduce government expenditures.
The majority of Musk’s vast fortune, estimated at $540 billion, primarily comes from his shares in the electric vehicle company, which continues to operate while he collaborates with Trump. Consequently, a growing number of Tesla vehicle owners who purchased their cars before Musk’s involvement in DOGE are now looking to sell or trade them in. Others are opting to distance themselves from him by adding bumper stickers to their vehicles.
But Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.”
He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently.
“There are times when there are rocky moments, where there is stormy weather, but what I am here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting,” Musk said.
After Trump was elected last November, investors initially saw Musk’s alliance with the president as a positive development for Tesla and its long-running efforts to launch a network of self-driving cars.
That optimism helped lift Tesla’s stock by 70 per cent between the election and Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, creating an additional $890 billion in shareholder wealth.
But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the backlash, lagging sales in the US, Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.
“This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.
