Elon Musk suffered a staggering $34 billion loss in personal wealth on Thursday following a heated public dispute with President Donald Trump.
Tesla shares plummeted 14.3% during Thursday's trading session, erasing approximately $150 billion from the electric vehicle company's market value. This massive loss translated to a $34 billion drop in Musk's net worth, marking the second-largest single-day drop ever recorded in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Despite this massive loss, Musk retained his position as the wealthiest individual globally, with his net worth falling to $334.5 billion.
The drop in net worth came after Musk publicly criticized Trump's signature "Big Beautiful Bill," calling the GOP legislation a "disgusting abomination" and urging Republican lawmakers to reject it due to concerns about budget deficits.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on his social media platform X. "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."
Trump responded during a White House meeting on Thursday, expressing disappointment with Musk's opposition and suggesting the billionaire was upset about potential cuts to electric vehicle tax subsidies.
"Elon and I had a wonderful relationship. I'm not sure if that will remain," Trump told reporters.
The president later threatened on Truth Social to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," referencing the billions in government contracts held by Musk's companies, particularly SpaceX. Musk fired back on his social media platform X, claiming he was responsible for Trump's 2024 election victory and accusing the president of having connections to Jeffrey Epstein. The Tesla CEO also threatened to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, though he later walked back that statement.
The public feud represents a dramatic deterioration of what was once a close alliance. Musk had invested nearly $300 million supporting Trump's presidential campaign and served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency before stepping down last week.
Tesla's stock decline occurred during heavy trading volume, with approximately 100 million shares changing hands. The company's market capitalization remains around $1 trillion, making it the world's most valuable automaker despite recent losses.
This marks Musk's second-worst single-day wealth loss on record. His previous largest drop occurred in November 2021 when he lost $50 billion after posting a Twitter poll about selling Tesla stock.
Originally published on Enstarz
