Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suffered a staggering $34 billion loss in his net worth on Thursday, marking one of the largest single-day declines ever recorded for an individual, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The dramatic drop followed a highly public and acrimonious exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The conflict ignited after Musk vocally opposed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping spending package the president championed. Musk criticized the bill as a “disgusting abomination” that would “massively inflate the already staggering deficit to 2.5 trillion,” warning it could trigger a recession. Trump retaliated by accusing Musk of being upset over the removal of electric vehicle tax credits—key incentives for Tesla buyers—and rescinded the nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
In response, Trump threatened to sever government contracts with Musk’s companies, including SpaceX, which holds federal agreements worth tens of billions of dollars. Musk defiantly replied, “Go ahead, make my day,” and announced plans to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned Musk’s reaction, saying, “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”
The market reacted sharply: Tesla shares plunged over 14 percent, wiping out approximately $138 billion in market capitalization. Musk’s personal stake accounted for $34 billion of that loss. This episode adds to a history of Musk’s social media activity triggering major financial swings, including a $50 billion net worth loss in 2021 after a Twitter poll.
