Musk and Trump: a dispute with billions in consequences

The conflict between Elon Musk and Donald Trump not only has political dimensions, but also massive financial implications. Musk, the CEO of Tesla $TSLA (+6,14%)was forced to back down after a public spat with Trump, when Tesla's market capitalization fell by an impressive 153 billion dollars. The dispute began when Musk publicly criticized Trump, particularly over his tax policies that could negatively affect Tesla and other electric car manufacturers. Despite attempts to de-escalate, Trump remained adamant and threatened to withdraw government contracts. The two giants once seemed to be allies, but tensions escalated when Musk called Trump a 'disgusting abomination'. This led to a dramatic fall in Tesla shares, which dropped 14% on Thursday. Musk, who lost 34 billion dollars in assets as a result of the dispute, was forced to rethink his aggressive rhetoric and listen to advice from his followers to defuse the situation. The financial consequences of the dispute are significant, not only for Musk, but also for the wider stock markets, as Tesla plays a significant role in the major indices.

Tesla shares plummet due to political tensions

The dispute between Musk and Trump has had a major impact on the markets. Tesla shares fell sharply on Thursday, dragging other indices with them. The shares lost around 14%, resulting in a drop of around 150 billion dollars in market capitalization. The impact was also felt on the major indices such as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, both of which were weighed down by Tesla's decline. Tesla accounts for around 1.6% of the S&P 500 and therefore has a significant impact on it. Although Tesla shares rose slightly on Friday, the decline since mid-December remains worrying. Tesla has lost about 37% of its value since then, while the S&P 500 is down only 1%. This trend highlights the risks associated with owning stocks in indices that are heavily dependent on a small number of large companies. Musk and Trump not only have their personal differences, but also shed light on the fragile relationship between politics and business, which has a direct impact on the financial markets.

Sources:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/musk-blinks-first-bitter-trump-120149604.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-musk-induced-tesla-slide-180808651.html

Elon Musk, the visionary mind behind Tesla $TSLA (+6,14%)recently voiced concerns about his company's dependence on the US government. According to Musk, this connection could jeopardize not only the company's innovative strength, but also potential billions in profits. In the past, he has repeatedly emphasized how important government subsidies and grants are for Tesla. But now he feels compelled to question this dependency. Musk is calling for a diversification of revenue sources and greater involvement in international markets. In this way, he wants to make Tesla less susceptible to political decisions and economic fluctuations in order to secure the long-term financial stability of his company.

In recent days, Autodoc, an online retailer of car parts, abandoned its first attempt at an IPO at the last minute. The company had high expectations for the listing, but was faced with unexpected challenges that made a successful implementation impossible. The volatile market situation and uncertainties in the industry have severely affected investor confidence. Autodoc plans to revisit the IPO at a later date, while the company remains committed to its growth targets. The preliminary feedback from investors will now be carefully analyzed in order to optimize the strategy for future financing rounds and strengthen the market position.

Sources:

https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/tech/elon-musk-abhaengigkeit-von-us-regierung-gefaehrdet-milliardengewinne-a-9b0878b0-8fe3-4669-9231-ceadf53b7f51

https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/autoindustrie/autodoc-woran-der-erste-boersengang-versuch-in-letzter-minute-scheiterte-a-b8199da0-8a80-4616-baa2-0b6d903454b4

The fifth month is now over. Somehow just as volatile as the other months, but this time at least in positive territory. The S&P500 has made up some ground, although it is still down YTD.

In May, I recorded a gain of 2.12%. This corresponds to a value of almost 2500€.

The Dax (+5.06%) has beaten me again. This is already becoming the norm. In May, the HSBC MSCI World (+3.26%) also beat me. However, I am still ahead for the year.

Over the year as a whole (YTD), I have again lost ground to the DAX, which has risen sharply again. This time the MSCI World was also able to catch up strongly. Nevertheless, as you can see above, I am still ahead of the MSCI World this year.

My high and low performers in May were (top 3):

Tesla ($TSLA (+6,14%) ) +22,79%

Microsoft ($MSFT (+0,93%) ) +17,31%

Texas Instruments ($TXN (+0,9%) ) +16,57%

Imperial Brands ($IMB (+0,28%) ) -7,06%

Eli Lilly ($LLY (+1,37%) ) -17,69%

UnitedHealth ($UNH (+3,35%) ) -28,08%

United Health is again among the worst performers. Eli Lilly is now also among them. The pharmaceutical stock has now also fallen quite a bit for me. Nevertheless, I am still well up. Imperial Brands also did very well this year and can therefore correct a little again. Tesla is doing Tesla things again and Microsoft is generally on the up anyway. It is pleasing that Texas Instruments has risen again. This stock is quite volatile due to all the customs issues.

Dividends:

In May, I received €413.70 net from a total of 15 distributions.

Compared to May 2024 (€358.98), this was an increase of 15.24%.

There are now some more dividends in June, before July is by far the worst dividend month.

Investments:

The build-up of the nest egg is still not complete. I haven't received the bill for the car repairs yet, so I still have to set aside some money for that. Apart from that, the nest egg is growing but it will take some time until it is at a satisfactory level. I'm currently tending to keep it at least €10,000 (because 5 figures is cooler).

Purchases and sales:

There were no sales in May.

I bought or increased United Health (2x)

savings plans (€125 in total):

• Cintas ($CTAS (+0,79%) )
• LVMH ($MC (+0,36%) )
• Microsoft ($MSFT (+0,93%) )

Goals 2025:

My goal is still to have €130,000 in my portfolio at the end of the year. The goal is to be achieved by reinvesting the dividend, making payments and, of course, increasing the share price. The share price increase is of course impossible to predict in any way, so the motto is: if the share price falls or does not rise enough, more cash is needed.

This comes from selling useless stuff on eBay, additional income from e.g. "neighborhood help" etc.

The worse the share price, the more additional cash has to be raised.

Target achievement at the end of May 2025: 38.88%

Thanks to the good May, I have come a good deal closer to the average. Nevertheless, the year could still go a little better for me. But the feel-good factor is still 100%.

How was your May? The Rewind for May is already available. It looks quite nice too.

If you liked the report and would like to read more, feel free to follow me,

If you're not interested, you can keep scrolling or use the block function.

$TSLA (+6,14%)

My dears, what's next? There are now even rumours of Musk's companies being nationalized.

US President Donald Trump is not planning a meeting with tech billionaire Elon Musk for the time being. Trump has no intention of speaking with Musk today, the White House said on Friday. The platform "Politico" had reported on a possible reconciliation between the two men. Trump told ABC that he was "not particularly interested" in talking to Musk after the rift.

Trump was also adamant, calling his former adviser and ally Musk "the man who lost his mind". The Republican is also considering selling his electric car from Musk's company Tesla, according to reports from the White House. According to an AFP reporter, the red car with a market value of around 80,000 dollars (just under 70,000 euros) was still parked on the White House grounds on Friday.

Trump had bought the Tesla from Musk in mid-March as part of a kind of sales show in front of the White House. The reason for this was a boycott of Tesla after Musk, on behalf of the President, had carried out a clear-cutting of the state apparatus and caused the dismissal of numerous employees. At the time, Trump said that Tesla was "a great company" and that Musk was "a patriot". Tesla's share price recovered somewhat as a result.

On Thursday, the two men had been hurling ever more massive accusations at each other. The rift was triggered by Musk's criticism of the president's planned tax law. Among other things, it provides for the reduction of tax breaks for electric cars. Trump accused the entrepreneur of only speaking out against his tax plans when he found out about them.

https://www.stern.de/news/trump-plant-keine-aussprache-mit-musk-und-prueft-tesla-verkauf-35789940.html

then it's champagne instead of seltzer today, because of the falling knife :D

For the first time in years, I'm worried. The dispute between the richest man in the world and the formally most powerful man in the world will result in collateral damage if they don't come to their senses quickly after sleeping on it a few times.

The cause of the conflict seems to be that Elon is furious that Trump is cutting EV subsidies - which, incidentally, was also announced. In this respect, Trump is a politician who actually tries to implement his election promises and puts political responsibility above private friendships. That's not a bad thing at first.

Who comes out of this worse is questionable. $TSLA (+6,14%) will be destroyed in any case, as Elon has already managed to make the left hate him forever. And now he's also causing unrest in the right-wing camp. Who will still be on his side in the long term and buy cars? In any case, the government has serious tools to inflict serious pain on the Musk empire.

At the same time, Trump certainly doesn't need such an influential enemy to further complicate and destabilize the country's leadership. Schadenfreude is far from appropriate here, because the more chaotic and insecure the USA becomes, the more it hurts us globally too, and not just those of us who are interested in the stock market.

If Trump loses control, it won't primarily be someone new who makes everything better. There is no need to hope for a coup now.

Instead, the more unstable the situation in the United States becomes, the more likely it is that Pandora's box will be opened. Ultimately, it is only a matter of time before unpleasant contemporaries see a ladder in the chaos.

When the dust settles Trump is still a billionaire.

Elon is still a billionaire.

And the world is fucked.

Once they were close allies, today they are rivals: Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The dispute between the two is currently being fought out publicly on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Truth Social. What was once an alliance is now a digital exchange of blows with no clear outcome.

At the same time, references to Trump's possible links to the Epstein files are once again circulating on social media. Meanwhile, Musk is publicly expressing massive criticism of the political leadership in the USA and the future of electromobility. Reports that no further EV (electric vehicle) investments are planned in the USA are causing additional unrest.

This public dispute between two influential personalities is not only damaging their reputations, but also the international image of the United States. What is needed now is not a personal feud on social media, but responsible leadership and economic stability.

The United States needs a strong government with a clear vision for the future - independent of ego battles and personal power games. This is the only way to regain the trust of the population and the international community.

PS: The $TSLA (+6,14%) is suffering!

#trump
#musk
#elon
$TSLA (+6,14%)
#usa