Elon Musk didn’t just lose a precious friendship when he criticized Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’; he also suffered a major financial setback. The multibillionaire’s net worth took a significant hit as Tesla’s share price fell more than 14% in a single day.
On Thursday, June 5, Tesla stocks plummeted by 14.26% to close at $284.70 apiece. At the end of the day, Elon Musk’s net worth fell by nearly $27 billion, as per Forbes. As it fell below $400 billion and came down to $388 billion, Forbes reported that he “lost the equivalent of five times Trump’s $5.5 billion net worth”. Thursday’s selloff in Tesla shares by panicked investors was followed after President Donald Trump threatened to revoke federal subsidies for all ventures owned by his friend-turned-foe Elon Musk.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.”
Currently, Musk’s two largest companies, SpaceX and Tesla, largely benefit from government programs such as lunar launch contracts and electric car incentives. In retaliation to Trump’s threat, he vowed to cut off SpaceX’s manned spacecraft program, although he later said that he won’t after an X user requested him to calm down.
Tesla benefits from a $7,500 federal tax credit for the purchase of EVs, a program signed by Joe Biden in 2022 to promote the sales of electric vehicles. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill would end these tax credits, which may cost Tesla $1.2 billion, as per JPMorgan Chase.
Musk openly criticized the bill as he wrote on X, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2025
The fall in Tesla shares was the company’s 11 largest single-day losses since it went public in 2010. Forbes added that Tesla shares have witnessed a 33% decline in share price since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January where Elon Musk made news for his alleged ‘Nazi’ salute, followed by his controversial work done at DOGE.
Last month, it was reported that the Tesla board was allegedly looking for a replacement for Musk as CEO. Ross Gerber, one of Tesla’s earliest investors, asked Musk to step down, citing that the company’s reputation has been “destroyed by Elon Musk.”
He added, “It’s time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long.”
“There are too many important things Tesla is doing, so either Elon should come back to Tesla and be the CEO of Tesla and give up his other jobs or he should focus on the government and keep doing what he is doing but find a suitable CEO of Tesla,” Gerber said, as per Unilad.
Musk, and Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm denied these claims. However, Musk probably realized that it won’t be long until it actually happens. He then stepped down from his position as DOGE head to return to his duties as a businessman. He then also announced on a public forum that he doesn’t always agree with Trump’s decisions.
In an interview with CBS, he said, “It’s not like I agree with everything the administration does. So it’s like, I mean, I agree with much of what the administration does. But we have differences of opinion. You know, there are things that I don’t entirely agree with.”
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