Is Tesla in trouble? This is why shares of Elon Musk’s company have fallen 45% since December according to experts

There have been concerns over the past couple years among Tesla shareholders that Elon Musk has been spreading himself too thin, running several companies at the same time. In addition to being CEO of the electric car manufacturer, he is also the head of the Boring Company, Neuralink, SpaceX, xAI and X, formerly known as Twitter.

If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, he joined the Trump administration, taking up an office in the White House West Wing, after he bet in the ballpark of $290 million on the Republican’s 2024 presidential campaign, roughly the cost of 3 Starship launches. That wager paid off bigtime in the weeks after the election helping send Telsa’s stock skyrocketing, peaking at almost $480 at the end of last year. However, his actions since Trump took office have created a near complete reversal of those good fortunes.

Musk’s new DOGE position drives backlash against Tesla

The EV manufacturer’s share price has lost 96% of its post-election gains since December and is now down 45%, wiping over $116 billion from Musk’s net worth. The vast majority of those loses have occurred just since Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president.

Musk’s position at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, named after a meme coin, has been driving most of the backlash against Tesla. His slash-and-burn firings of government employees and shuttering of agencies has caused outrage across the nation.

Additionally, he has made himself a high-profile member of the Trump administration, despite not holding any official role. He’s attended Cabinet meetings, done photo ops with Trump in the Oval Office and wielded a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) tying himself, and the Tesla brand, with the far-right and unpopular moves by the new administration.

Although repeat buyers have increased in Red States, sales of Tesla have dropped in the US overall with one owner telling the Associate Press that he cancelled his order for a Cybertruck, eating his $100 deposit, and doesn’t even want to drive the Model 3 he owns. He told the outlet that Musk is “destroying the brand with his politics.”

Tesla dealerships have been protested and Tesla cars vandalized. A Cybertruck that took part in a Mardi Gras parade had to get a police escort to get out when the crowd began booing and throwing objects at it.

Tesla has seen sales in Europe plummet

Musk has also been getting involved in European politics, supporting far-right candidates and parties in recent elections. He threw his hat in with the AfD in Germany, a Eurosceptic and pro-Russian party which uses Nazi slogans, trivialized the Holocaust and white-washes other Nazi crimes.

Deliveries of new Tesla vehicles in Germany, where Tesla has a factory, are down 76%. Sales are also down by 48% in Norway, 42% in Sweden. On the other side of the globe Australians are also turning their backs on Tesla with sales plunging 72%.

But it isn’t just backlash at the eccentric billionaire coming out as a champion of far-right political movements, the company is also facing more competition in the EV market, especially from China. The Asian nation, where the company’s sales are down 29% this year, is Tesla’s second largest market after the US.

Another concern for investors is that his close association with the Trump administration could harm Tesla as the new trade war that Trump kicked off ratchets up. The Chinese government could target Tesla as part of its reprisals against the US to influence Musk warned Isaac Stone Fish, the CEO of Strategy Risks speaking to CNN.

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