Elon Musk and Donald Trump publicly clashed on Thursday, with the former president calling him a name, accusing him of being dishonest, and making further comments about the entrepreneur. This public feud between two of America’s most influential figures comes as Tesla Inc. faces a threat from Trump that could potentially harm its financial performance. The billionaire president has threatened to cancel government contracts with Tesla if he wins re-election in 2024.
Tesla shares dropped by more than 14% on Thursday after news of the dispute broke, wiping $34 billion off Elon Musk’s net worth according to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This decline was one of the biggest single-day drops for Tesla since March 2020.
The Dispute
The public spat began when Trump called Musk "a total disaster" during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night. He also accused Musk of being dishonest about his business dealings at Twitter Inc., which he bought last year for $44 billion.
Musk responded by asserting that he had been "very honest" about his plans for Twitter before purchasing it, but had faced various obstacles in implementing them. He also claimed that Trump had lied about his business dealings at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump retaliated on Thursday morning, labeling Musk "a total loser" and accusing him of being a "total disaster" who would be unable to run a successful company like Tesla if given control.
Reactions from Business Leaders
Several business leaders have weighed in on the public dispute between Trump and Musk. Mark Cuban appeared to support Musk’s idea for a new political party aimed at "the middle."
"I’m not a fan of either major party," Cuban stated last year during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box. He expressed that if he were to enter politics today as an independent candidate, he would likely win because he is not beholden to any particular ideology or special interest group.
However, Cuban noted that running as an independent candidate would be challenging due to the lack of resources available outside the two major parties. He mentioned, "You can’t just go out there and raise money without having some kind of affiliation."
Cuban has previously expressed frustration with both major parties’ performance over recent years. In October 2022, he told CNBC’s Scott Wapner during an appearance on Squawk Box:
“I think we need something different. I don’t know what it is yet,” but suggested starting small by creating local groups focused on issues such as education or healthcare. “If we start doing this locally,” Cuban said, “then maybe we can build up enough momentum where people will start paying attention.”
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