Tesla (TSLA) stock plummeted Thursday as CEO Elon Musk went on an extraordinary social media rant in which he lambasted the Republican spending bill before Congress, called for Donald Trump to be impeached and removed from office, and accused the U.S. President of links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump responded by asserting he had fired Musk from his job in government because he was “wearing thin” and threatened to axe all of Musk’s government’s contracts. Unlike SpaceX, Tesla has very little direct business with the U.S. federal government. But the prospect of a powerful new enemy in the White House sent Tesla investors fleeing, pushing the stock below the $300 level to $284.70, down 14.26% in a single day.

Replacement Theory

The Elon-Trump bromance began last year when Tesla’s CEO endorsed Trump for reelection reportedly spent $291.5 million dollars helping Trump and Republicans attain power in 2024.

Although Musk had been moving rightward in his politics for some time, the move nevertheless surprised many longtime fans who saw Musk as a warrior against climate change and an advocate for science. Musk’s subsequent full embrace of MAGA’s vilest and most extreme elements drove Tesla customers away in droves.

And then there was DOGE. Musk parlayed his campaign donations into an official government role as head of the Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was supposed to save the federal government trillions by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Yet DOGE was a spectacular failure by its own definition, somehow managing to severely damage several important federal programs without putting a dent in overall levels of government expenditure.

Musk’s brutal attacks on Donald Trump will undoubtedly cause even more damage to Tesla’s sullied brand. His embrace of MAGA destroyed Tesla’s reputation with most Europeans and left of centre Americans. Now a significant percentage of Trump’s supporters may turn on the company as well.

A Musk-Trump breakup in theory could have been good for Tesla, if it has been executed slowly, combined with outreach to Democrats and branded as Musk stepping away from politics to focus on the company. But Musk’s social media tirade was the opposite of tactful, and illustrates how the South African oligarch’s erratic personality poses an existential threat to the company.

How long before the board starts to ask themselves: why is this man still CEO?

Tesla Stock Craters 14% As Musk Goes Nuclear…