By Emmanuel Nduka
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk saw his net worth plunge by $34 billion on Thursday, following a public feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over recent economic policies.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it was one of the largest single-day losses ever recorded for an individual.
The dispute began after Musk criticized President Trump’s latest spending package dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, and warned that new tariffs included in the legislation could push the U.S. into a recession.
In response, Trump accused Musk of reacting to the removal of federal electric vehicle tax credits, a move that could significantly impact Tesla. The president also withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, from leading NASA.
The feud escalated further when Trump threatened to cancel federal contracts with Musk’s companies, including SpaceX, which holds multi-billion-dollar agreements with the U.S. government. Musk fired back on social media, writing, “Go ahead, make my day.”
As tensions rose, Musk announced plans to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, a decision widely seen as retaliatory.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned Musk’s reaction, calling it “an unfortunate episode” and emphasizing the administration’s commitment to the bill.
The fallout hit Tesla hard, as its stock dropped more than 14%, wiping out approximately $138 billion in market value. Musk, who holds a significant stake in the company, personally lost $34 billion in the rout.
This incident is the latest example of Musk’s social media activity triggering major financial swings. A similar episode in 2021 led to a $50 billion drop in his net worth after a controversial Twitter poll.
