Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk experienced a staggering $34 billion drop in his net worth on Thursday, following a very public fallout with U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the sharp decline in Musk’s wealth marks one of the most significant single-day losses ever recorded for an individual.
The financial downturn followed Musk’s open criticism of Trump’s newly signed spending bill, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” by the president. Musk also denounced the administration’s new tariff policies, warning they could push the U.S. into a recession by the end of the year.
In response, Trump accused Musk of being upset over the removal of electric vehicle tax credits—an important incentive for Tesla buyers—and subsequently withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, as head of NASA.
Escalating the feud, Trump threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk’s companies, including multi-billion dollar deals with SpaceX. Musk responded defiantly on social media, posting: “Go ahead, make my day.”
In a bold move of his own, Musk announced plans to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, escalating tensions even further.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Musk’s reaction, calling it “unfortunate.”
“This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it doesn’t include the policies he wanted,” she said.
“The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”
Tesla’s stock took a major hit, falling over 14% amid the controversy. The drop wiped out around $138 billion in market capitalization, with Musk’s personal share accounting for $34 billion of that loss.
This is not the first time Musk’s public statements have had major financial repercussions. In November 2021, a Twitter poll he posted led to a dramatic slide in Tesla’s stock, costing him $50 billion in just one week.
