Times Elon Musk Has Hurt — and Helped — Tesla’s Stock
Written by
Sarah Li Cain
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Starting in 2008, when Elon Musk took over as CEO of Tesla after being an early investor, he played a big role in helping the company get where it is today. Under his leadership, he has helped launch the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck.
You could say his ambition has helped to increase Tesla’s stock prices.
Unfortunately, Musk’s recent moves haven’t helped the company’s stock. In fact, Tesla’s stock is down about 36% in mid-April 2025 compared to January, when it was the nearly highest it’s been.
Big Moves in Other Industries
Some of Musk’s actions have done more to hurt Tesla’s stock than help it. Namely, the purchase of X and, more recently, his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to CBS News, Musk admitted that his advisory role with DOGE is “a very expensive job” and that protesters are putting “massive pressure on me and Tesla to stop doing this.”
These protests are against DOGE. And the negative backlash against Musk has also led to many Tesla owners selling their vehicles in favor of other brands. On April 2, Tesla released its first-quarter deliveries, which reported the company only produced 335,681 vehicles, a 13% drop compared to 2024.
And there’s been trouble with Cybertrucks in particular. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in late March recalled almost all of Tesla’s 46,000 Cybertrucks on the road because of an exterior panel that could detach while driving.
Musk’s Reputation
Stock prices did rise slightly with both early April and mid-April reports that Musk may step down from his role at DOGE.
So what exactly does this mean, when there seems to be so much volatility in Tesla prices recently? Stock prices seem to hinge on Musk’s reputation.
It could also be that Tesla is facing more competition from other companies making electric vehicles, which could hurt its sales.
What seems clear is that it’s hard to predict what will happen next.
How Investors Should React
So how does this affect you as an investor?
If you have individual Tesla stock, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should sell it. But you do want to consider your overall investing strategy.
For instance, if you hold individual stocks and aren’t too concerned about it losing value over the next few years, you’re probably fine. For most, it may make sense to diversify your portfolio to hedge against too much risk.
That means investing in other types of securities, like bonds, mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) across a broad range of industries. Understand what your risk tolerance is and spread your investments so that you can balance your level of risk and desire to capture returns.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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