Elon Musk spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago with former President Donald Trump, even getting a round-trip ride on Air Force One. However, while Musk’s political ties have strengthened, his business empire is facing significant struggles.
Musk’s Companies in Crisis
Three of Musk’s major ventures—X, Tesla, and SpaceX—have encountered serious setbacks:
- X (formerly Twitter) suffered a widespread outage on Monday.
- Tesla shares plummeted 15%, wiping out all post-Election Day gains.
- SpaceX faced continued fallout from another Starship rocket explosion.
These difficulties have taken a toll on Musk’s wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk lost $29 billion in net worth on Monday alone.
Tesla’s Struggles and Trump’s Support
The stock market took a hit on Monday, but Tesla’s 15% drop was particularly severe. The decline was attributed to a combination of increased competition, declining sales—especially in Europe—and Musk’s growing involvement in politics, which has polarized potential customers.
In response, Trump took to Truth Social early Tuesday to show his support for Musk and Tesla:
“Elon Musk is putting it on the line to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
Musk acknowledged Trump’s gesture with a thank-you post on X.
Despite expectations that Musk’s proximity to Trump would benefit Tesla—potentially through deregulation and a friendlier business climate—the reality has been different. Sales have declined, and Tesla showrooms and vehicles have been targeted by protesters. Recent incidents include:
- A Tesla charging station in Boston being set on fire.
- A Tesla dealership in Oregon being shot at.
- Reports from Tesla owners on social media claiming their vehicles have been vandalized.
Musk has blamed liberal activists and billionaire George Soros for these attacks. Trump echoed this sentiment, claiming on Truth Social that “radical leftists” were colluding to boycott Tesla and harm Musk.
Musk, however, remains optimistic, responding to an X user discussing Tesla stock with: “It will be fine long-term.”
X Faces Outage, Musk Claims Cyberattack
On Monday, X was hit with a major outage, with thousands of users reporting issues on DownDetector. Musk attributed the disruption to a large-scale cyberattack:
“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
He later agreed with an X user who suggested the attack was an effort to silence him and his platform.
Cybersecurity experts, however, advised caution, with Eric Noonan, CEO of CyberSheath, telling CNN that it’s too early to determine the cause of the outage.
Since acquiring X (formerly Twitter) for $44 billion in 2022, Musk has struggled to maintain its value. Last October, Fidelity estimated that Musk had erased 80% of the platform’s worth.
SpaceX’s Exploding Rockets
Musk’s space venture also suffered another setback. The latest launch of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket resulted in an explosion—the second such failure in a row. The blast caused flight disruptions, and debris from the first explosion in January had already scattered over Turks and Caicos.
Musk remained unfazed, responding to a photo of himself inspecting debris from a previous failure:
“Today was a minor setback. Progress is measured by time. The next ship will be ready in 4 to 6 weeks.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues its investigation into SpaceX’s recent failures.
Balancing Politics and Business
Musk’s increasing political involvement, particularly as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, has drawn mixed reactions. Supporters see it as an effort to curb government waste, while critics argue it represents an unelected power grab.
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Musk admitted that running his businesses while engaging in government work is a challenge:
“I run my companies with great difficulty.”
Despite Musk’s claims of working 16-hour days, recent events highlight a stark reality: even for the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, political influence alone cannot sustain a business—it must be well-managed to succeed.
