Elon Musk is facing significant challenges this year.
The billionaire, who is aligned with Donald Trump and leads the president’s contentious Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has experienced substantial financial losses this year.
Following Trump’s election, Tesla’s stock value suffered a significant decline in January.
The troubles for Tesla, a once-dominant electric vehicle company, have continued to mount.
Recently, Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been the targets of attacks, prompting Trump to establish a ‘Tesla task force’ to address the situation.
Musk has publicly commented on the violence, expressing his astonishment.
“It is remarkable that there is so much violence, people have had burnt cars, they have fired bullets into dealerships, they have scratched swastikas into Teslas of innocent people, they are just going about their lives,” he told Fox News.
Musk added: “The president has made it clear that we are going to go after those who are paying and organizing these violent attacks and attorney general Bondi has said the same thing.”
Due to the targeting of Tesla owners, EV sales have fallen by 13 percent in the first quarter of 2025, as reported by Reuters.
Another challenge for Tesla is Trump’s new tariffs, which will impact the company due to its reliance on foreign parts for manufacturing.
On April 3, a new 25 percent tariff on cars and parts imported into the US was implemented, with tariffs on car parts starting May 3.
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HOW TRUMP’S TARIFFS WILL ‘SIGNIFICANTLY’ IMPACT TESLA
Though Tesla hoped to avoid significant impact from the tariff changes, it imports 20 to 25 percent of its parts from other countries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
As a result, Musk reportedly lost $11 billion yesterday, with total losses this year reaching $110 billion, according to Bloomberg.
This recent loss followed a 5.5 percent drop in Tesla stock value.
Tesla isn’t the only company affected by the tariffs; some vehicles may see price increases of thousands of dollars.
The Anderson Economic Group (AEG) has commented on the automotive industry’s outlook post-tariff, stating: “The large SUV category includes models assembled in the US with parts from Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and having relatively high [manufacturer’s suggested retail prices].
“These vehicles are expected to see a tariff impact of $10,000 to $12,000, with some battery-electric vehicles incurring a potential tariff exceeding $15,000.”