If You Invested $1,000 in Tesla a Week Before the Election, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Tesla’s stock price has been on a wild ride since President Donald Trump won re-election to the White House in November 2024. Shares soared to record highs late last year thanks to the lift Tesla got from CEO Elon Musk’s close ties to Trump. But then shares collapsed as those ties came into clearer focus.
If you had bought the stock a week before the election, you’d have turned a small profit today. But as the markets have proven this year, profits can quickly turn into steep losses.
Before getting to how much money you’d have after a $1,000 investment, it helps to review what’s happened over the past few months.
Tesla Stock: What’s Happened Since the Election
Tesla’s initial post-election stock surge had a lot to do with Musk’s position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an unofficial organization Trump created to slash the federal government’s spending.
Musk embraced the role, leading efforts to lay off thousands of federal workers and recommending that whole agencies be shut down. He even brandished a chainsaw at a conservative political conference to demonstrate his zeal for cutting costs.
But Tesla’s stock price turned south in a hurry after investors and consumers soured on DOGE — especially Musk’s targeting of Social Security. Tesla itself became the target of mass protests, while many of its vehicles and dealerships worldwide were vandalized.
How Much You’d Have Now If You Invested $1K in Tesla a Week Before the Election
If you invested $1,000 in Tesla a week before the Nov. 5. election, you would have made a profit of $98, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Here’s a breakdown:
- Closing price on Oct. 29, 2024: $259.52 per share
- Number of shares with $1,000 investment: 3.85
- Closing price on April 25, 2025: $284.95
- Current value: $1,098
Those figures only tell part of the story, however. The other part is how much Tesla’s stock has tumbled since hitting a record closing high of $479.86 on Dec. 17, 2024. On that day, your $1,000 investment would have been worth $1,847.46 — a gain of 85% in less than two months. Since then, Tesla shares have fallen by 41% and even sank below $220 per share at one point.
Damage to Musk’s reputation and Tesla’s brand have contributed to much of the slide. But investors are also nervous about how Trump’s tariffs plans will impact Tesla. Meanwhile, Tesla’s latest earnings report — which Electrek described as “disastrous” — has only added to the anxiety.
Here’s a closer look.
Tariffs
During an April 22 earnings call, Musk conceded that Trump’s trade war will not be good for Tesla’s business, Yahoo Finance reported — especially since the president has specifically targeted auto parts.
“I’ve been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity, but this decision is fundamentally up to the elected representative of the people being the president of the United States,” Musk said. “So, you know, I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs, but that’s all I can do.”
Tesla’s Business Performance
The EV maker posted big declines in both profits and auto sales during its first quarter. Earnings per share fell 40% from the prior year to 27 cents a share, Investor’s Business Daily reported, while revenue sank 9% to $19.335 billion. Both results were well below Wall Street estimates. Excluding regulatory credits of $595 million, Tesla actually had an operating loss.
Despite that performance, Tesla’s stock price has been on the rise in recent days amid enthusiasm over Musk’s announcement that he will step back from DOGE, The Guardian reported. But it remains unclear exactly what “step back” means.
Meanwhile, many investors remain concerned about whether Tesla can improve its performance given all the brand, economic and operational headwinds it faces right now.
More From GOBankingRates
Sources
- Yahoo Finance, “Musk on Trump tariffs: I’m an advocate for ‘free trade and lower tariffs.'”
- The Guardian, “Chaos unleashed by Musk’s Doge is starting to wane – what does that mean?“
