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Tesla shares are poised to jump as much as 5.7 per cent when stock markets open in the US later today after the business took a $99bn (£73bn) hit following an explosive feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The share price of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer tanked from more than $322 at the start of Thursday’s trading to $284 at the end of the day, more than a 14 per cent drop as a result of a back-and-forth argument between the pair, which covered everything from government contracts to the Epstein files.
However, a ceasefire of sorts appears to have been brokered, and the two are due to meet on Friday – resulting in some investors surging back into Tesla stock.
Even so, with futures markets showing around a 5.7 per cent rise in pre-trading just before 9am BST, that still means the market capitalisation of Tesla – the measure of its overall value by share price – will have dropped a full $99bn in a day.
After-hours trading shows the buying and selling of shares outside of regular stock market opening hours, mostly dominated by big corporate investors. That is reflected in the futures price, which shows the stock price that a company will “open” at.
The large sell-off means Tesla has again lost its status as a $1tn company, though it still ranks in the top ten largest American companies.
The one-day cost to Mr Musk’s net worth personally was around $34bn (£25bn), according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, at the time stock markets closed in the US. He remains the richest person on the planet by a distance.
Separate from share price woes, Mr Trump’s tax and spending Bill could be set to cost Tesla.
Eliminating tax incentives for US buyers purchasing EVs, in addition to a similar scheme in California, could cost Tesla more than $3bn, analysts estimate.
Outside of Tesla, Mr Musk’s other business interests could be hard-hit too if the US president presses ahead with his threats to cancel government contracts with SpaceX.
Other car manufacturers across the UK and Europe have not reacted with notable share price changes after the feud took place outside their trading hours on Thursday.
German-listed Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes were largely flat in early trading, with the UK’s Aston Martin Lagonda up 2 per cent. Ferrari is listed in New York and is up 0.4 per cent in pre-trading, with General Motors at 0.5 per cent and Toyota’s US listing set to open 0.3 per cent up.
