Tesla stock slumps amid Musk-Trump budget rumpus

Tesla (TSLA) stock slumped Wednesday in the immediate fallout of the very public policy blowout between President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The one-time leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) whined angrily on Tuesday, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” adding, “Shame on those” in the House who voted for it.

Musk added early Wednesday morning, “If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else!”

Musk’s rhetoric on Trump and the Republican-backed “big, beautiful bill” was ramping up recently with Musk’s comments to “CBS News Sunday Morning” and hit detonation levels with Tuesday’s post.

DOGE itself has come under criticism for not producing the amount of 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 range of business with SpaceX and NASA and the regulatory levers NHTSA could pull with getting autonomous driving rules in place for Tesla’s robotaxi testing.

Read more: How to avoid the sticker shock on Tesla car insurance

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.

Meanwhile, Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Waymo continues to plow ahead and is essentially the leader in the space, accumulating 250,000 robotaxi trips per week.

Also driving the news today is Tesla’s bread-and-butter automotive business, where new sales reports from international regions have been mostly negative.

A longtime bright spot, however, is Australia. Australian publication Drive reported that Tesla had 3,897 vehicle deliveries in May, its highest sales total in nearly a year. The refreshed Model Y powered those sales with 3,580 units sold, up 122.5% from a year ago, and total deliveries up 9.3%.

Interestingly, Tesla’s year-to-date sales are still down 48.2% in Australia. Model 3 sedan sales were down 83.8% in May. But May’s strong sales of the updated Model Y may be an indicator of more positive news to come for the EV maker, which is still the top EV seller in the country.