Tesla shares plummeted on Monday, reaching a low even before Election Day as investors registered the impact of a decline in sales and the impact of protests on the well-known political role that the company's CEO Elon Musk took over.
At the end of the transaction, shares in the electric car manufacturer fell more than 15% that day, more than 50% from its peak in mid-December. The losses on the day were the biggest Tesla stocks since 2020, far surpassing the 2.7% drop on Monday in the S&P 500.
The sharp rise in Tesla stock following Donald J. Trump's election as president, and Musk's appointment as a de facto government cost-cutting CZAR evaporated along with stock market value of over $700 billion.
Investors hope that Musk's financial support for the Trump campaign and his relationship with the White House will benefit Tesla, which will help clear the company's regulatory hurdles for autonomous driving technology.
Instead, Musk's ubiquitous presence in Washington has proven to be a responsibility. Investors are worried that Musk isn't spending enough time managing Tesla when sales of the company's cars are plunging.
Tesla has become the target of increasingly intense protests by those who were furious at Musk's leading role in cutting down the jobs of park rangers and other civil servants while blocking foreign aid and other programs.
Last week, someone set fire to a Tesla charging station near Boston. The shot was fired at a Tesla dealer in Oregon. And the protesters were arrested for non-violent protests at a Tesla dealer in lower Manhattan.
The political backlash has been at least partly blamed in Europe's gloomy sales figures last month, including a 76% drop in Tesla sales in Germany, the continent's largest automobile market. Musk supports far-right parties in European countries, including Germany. Analysts also attributed to declining sales, lack of new models and increased competition.
In January, Volkswagen sold more electric vehicles than Tesla, more electric vehicles than Tesla, according to figures released Monday by Korean research and consulting firm SNE Research.
Tesla is likely to suffer more than other automakers from the trade dispute sparked by Trump, but the company could become a victim of worsening relations with China. Tesla's largest factory is in Shanghai, where it manufactures cars for export to the Chinese market and to Europe and other regions.
