Tesla CEO Elon Musk lashed out at Wedbush's Dan Ives after the analyst posted three board recommendations for the company on X, according to CNBC. Ives called for a new pay package giving Musk 25% voting control,

But Tesla's troubles, though levered to Musk, may be deeper than Musk's distractions, such as politics, gaming, and colonizing Mars. A record fourth quarter delivery report in January seemed to indicate all was well with Tesla, but it doesn't tell the full story.

The second Trump presidency hasn’t been the boon for former “first buddy” Elon Musk’s Tesla stock investors had hoped, as shares are down more than 30% since Inauguration Day.

Will Ebiefung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends PayPal and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short June 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

July 7–8, 2025: The first trading day since Musk’s weekend announcement, Tesla shares tumbled, and Musk’s personal fortune dropped by as much as $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As of July 9, it stands at $349 billion with Tesla shares broadly unchanged.

Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla investor and vocal Musk critic, didn’t hold back online, writing in his own post that, “no one wants the Elon first party,” accusing the company’s board of being “Elon vampires sucking the blood of Tesla equity.”

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) sales are still slumping in Europe, with April registrations in key markets plunging as much as 67%, underscoring growing consumer pushback and demand headwinds.