Elon Musk suffers one of the largest wealth losses ever as Trump feud escalates
On Thursday, a very public and dramatic clash unfolded between Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump, both known for their huge influence and massive wealth. The fallout from their feud was intense, and it ended up costing Musk a reported \$34 billion in personal wealth in a single day, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. That makes it one of the biggest one-day losses of wealth ever recorded. The only larger loss also happened to Musk, back in 2021.
The tension between Musk and Trump had been building earlier in the week, but it boiled over during a White House meeting on Thursday. Musk had strongly criticized a new piece of legislation pushed by Trump, which Trump had referred to as his “big, beautiful bill.” Musk was very vocal in his disapproval, and things escalated fast. During the meeting, Trump struck back, accusing Musk of having selfish motives. Trump claimed that Musk was only criticizing the bill because it aimed to take away government tax breaks for electric vehicles — benefits that directly help Tesla, the company Musk leads.
Musk didn’t let the accusation go unanswered. He responded in a very public and aggressive way on X, the social media platform he owns. In a series of posts, Musk lashed out at Trump, accusing him of being ungrateful for past support. He also stirred up controversy by suggesting that Trump’s name appeared in the “Epstein files,” referring to documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier with ties to powerful people and a history of criminal accusations. While there was no confirmed evidence of Trump being directly connected to Epstein’s crimes in those documents, Musk’s suggestion was a bold and provocative move that added more fuel to the fire.
Not one to back down, Trump took to his own social media site, Truth Social, and made a direct threat against Musk’s business interests. He suggested the government should cancel its contracts and financial support for Musk’s companies. Trump claimed that doing so would save taxpayers billions of dollars. This was a serious threat, considering that some of Musk’s ventures — including Tesla and SpaceX — have government contracts or benefit from federal programs.
The financial markets reacted quickly. Tesla’s stock dropped sharply, falling 14.3% by the end of the trading day. That wiped out nearly \$150 billion from the company’s total market value. Because so much of Musk’s wealth is tied up in Tesla stock, this crash caused a huge drop in his net worth.
Even after this enormous loss, Musk remains the richest person in the world. Bloomberg estimates his fortune at around \$334.5 billion. But that figure only includes publicly traded assets like Tesla. Musk also owns large stakes in private companies, including SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. The true damage to his wealth could be even greater if these private companies were affected by the political fallout or potential changes to government funding.
Bloomberg noted that while Thursday’s hit was huge, it might just be the beginning of financial consequences for Musk if this battle with Trump continues or worsens. If the federal government were to follow through on Trump’s threat and pull contracts or subsidies, Musk’s companies could take another major financial hit — not just on Wall Street, but in operations and future growth.
This situation is more than just a personal spat between two high-profile billionaires. It shows how political fights at the highest levels can have real financial consequences, not only for the people involved but also for the companies and industries connected to them. The Musk–Trump feud has now moved beyond words and into a space where billions of dollars, business deals, and government policies are all on the line.
