Elon Musk experienced a staggering financial loss in just a single day following his public disagreement with President Trump.
Musk, despite his multibillionaire status, saw his net worth significantly decrease on Thursday, June 5, as tensions with Trump became public.
Their relationship, once friendly, deteriorated rapidly after Musk voiced his disapproval of the president’s ‘big beautiful bill’.
The founder of SpaceX expressed his frustration on Twitter: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. 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.”
This piece of legislation is on its way to the Senate after being approved by the House of Republicans last week.
In response, Trump expressed he was ‘very disappointed in [Musk]’.
It appeared that Trump wasn’t alone in his disappointment as Tesla investors started withdrawing their funds.
By the end of the trading day on Thursday, Musk’s net worth had diminished by $34 billion, equating to a 14 percent decrease.
This financial blow marked the second-largest loss ever recorded on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which lists the 500 wealthiest individuals globally, as reported by the publication.
Tesla’s stock has been notably unstable, influenced by Musk’s associations with the Trump administration. According to The Independent, the electric vehicle company’s stock has dropped by 33 percent since Inauguration Day.
Beyond the stock market, rumors circulated last month about the Tesla board initiating a search for a new CEO to replace Musk, following a call for his resignation by Ross Gerber, an early investor in Tesla.
“The company’s reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk,” Gerber stated in March. “It’s time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long.”
He elaborated: “There are too many important things Tesla is doing, so either Elon should come back to Tesla and be the CEO of Tesla and give up his other jobs or he should focus on the government and keep doing what he is doing but find a suitable CEO of Tesla.”
Musk and Tesla’s chair, Robyn Denholm, both refuted these claims.
With Musk’s departure from the Trump administration, he potentially has more time to dedicate to his ventures such as Tesla and SpaceX.