Tesla (TSLA) stock slumped again on Thursday as the fallout continued to emerge from the very public policy blowout between President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL,” Musk posted on X on Wednesday.
Musk added, “If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else!”
The vocal criticism is irking Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported, with a senior official claiming that White House advisors were “caught off guard” by Musk’s latest broadsides.
Tesla stock fell solidly on Wednesday and extended those losses in premarket trading on Thursday, down as much as 3%.
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At close: June 4 at 4:00:01 PM EDT
The comments come after the one-time leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) waded earnestly into the debate over the bill this week, angrily posting Tuesday that it was a “disgusting abomination.”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” he said.
“Shame on those” who voted for it in the House, Musk added.
Bloomberg reported that Musk may also be driven by the fact that the federal EV tax credit is being phased out by the bill, as he fought hard to keep it in place as a key driver for Tesla’s business.
Musk’s barrage comes as the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, and a Congressional Budget Office estimation of its impact on the deficit adds fuel to Musk’s line of argument.
The nonpartisan office projected the House-passed version of the bill would add $2.4 trillion to deficits over the next 10 years.
The formerly Musk-led DOGE itself has been criticized for not producing the budgetary cuts Musk touted it could find, and the cuts it has produced have been deeply unpopular.
Musk’s closeness to the Trump administration had been seen as a boon for Tesla, given its business with SpaceX and NASA and the regulatory levers the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could pull in getting autonomous driving rules in place for Tesla’s robotaxi testing.
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But demand weakness in the EU and recent protests at US Tesla showrooms have followed Musk’s controversial foray into politics, causing some Tesla owners to become alienated by Musk, specifically by his right-leaning tendencies, DOGE, and outward support of President Trump.
Tesla’s big robotaxi test is slated for June 12 in Austin. Much of the company’s value is tied to whether it can fully unlock autonomous driving for robotaxi purposes and individual owners.