Tesla Motors' stock price is taking a beating again, this time because of the very high-profile squabble between chief executive Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.
Its 15 per cent decline on Thursday reflects the volatility that shadows the company's shares, which remain vulnerable to everything from market trends to short tweets, especially from Mr Musk.
Now, with his increasingly bitter fight with Mr Trump, Mr Musk might find himself on the short end of the stick: once a trusted adviser, he has now fallen out of favour with his blitz of criticism over Mr Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill. Mr Musk derided it as a "disgusting abomination".
His gripes won't surely sit well with a "very disappointed" Mr Trump, who is notorious for getting back at his critics. Mr Musk curried favours during his time in the US administration, securing contracts and deals for his companies.
Those favours are now likely up in the air. Mr Trump had already suggested that one way to save "billions and billions" is to "terminate" Mr Musk's government subsidies and contracts.
It's a spectacular U-turn for the once allies; Mr Trump said he even bought a Tesla to show his support for Mr Musk.
Losing the White House’s support would be "terrible for Tesla, which is being eaten alive in Europe and Asia by Chinese competition, and Elon Musk’s irritating involvement in politics", said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
She pointed out that Mr Musk would need the President's support, especially for Tesla's self-driving cars and Robotaxis, which "need friendly legislation to thrive".
"Legislation is Trump. The hype around Tesla is not looking good," she added.
Tesla's shares were up nearly 5 per cent in premarket trading on Friday amid reports of a scheduled call between Mr Trump and Mr Musk to end the spat.
While Tesla's stock still remains slightly above its level when Mr Trump won his second presidency in November – Mr Musk splashed $250 million to help ensure that – it's now uncertain how the Musk-Trump clash will affect its share price moving forward.
Here are some of the biggest movements in Tesla's stock history.
July 24, 2024: Competition heat
Tesla's stock dove 12 per cent to $215.99 after its second-quarter financials disappointed, with revenue sliding 7 per cent. The EV maker began feeling the heat from intense competition, most notably from China, as BYD famously overtook it as the world's biggest EV maker in the fourth quarter of 2023 and, subsequently, for the entirety of 2024.
October 24, 2024: 22% blitz
After solid third quarter financials that saw Mr Musk boldly projecting up to 30 per cent more sales in 2025, Tesla's stock rocketed nearly 22 per cent, putting investors at ease.
This was the biggest single-day gain in more than a decade, which also added $150 billion to the company's market value.
November 11, 2024: Tesla gets 'Trumped'
Tesla gained nearly 9 per cent to $350 as investors expected the alliance between Mr Musk and the then president-elect Mr Trump to further boost its stock.
The world's wealthiest person threw in about $250 million into Mr Trump's campaign to help the latter recapture the White House earlier that month.
January 2, 2025: New Year's peeve
After a series of highs, Tesla came back down, starting the new year with a more than 6 per cent drop to $379.28 after deliveries posted their first decline in a decade.
This was also the first time the stock went below the $400 level in nearly a month.
February 11, 2025: BYD strikes again
After the previous coups, BYD once again hit Tesla, this time as it partnered with fellow Chinese company DeepSeek – famous for putting a dent into the auras of OpenAI and Nvidia – to utilise artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles.
That caused Tesla's stock to shed 6.3 per cent to $328.50.
March 10 to April 9, 2025: Tariff see-saw
The beginning of the Trump tariff effect: on March 10, Tesla's stock slid more than 15 per cent to $222.15, amid concerns and uncertainty around Mr Trump's planned tariffs.
It didn't last long, as the company's share price worked its way back up, peaking – for this period – at $288.14 on March 25, as Mr Trump signalled he might scale back some of the levies.
Mr Trump unveiled his Liberation Day tariffs on April 2. By April 8, investors were now raising concerns on how the company would cope with them: that combination pulled down Tesla's shares nearly 5 per cent to $221.86, its lowest since the March 10 slide.
This time, it seemed like a blip: the following day, April 9, Tesla shares soared more than 22 per cent after Benchmark Company analyst Mickey Legg dismissed the sell-off as “overblown”.
April 21, 2025: Dogged by Doge
Tesla shares gave up almost 6 per cent analyst fears that there was an “continuing brand erosion” stemming from Mr Musk’s role in the Trump administration.
Mr Musk and Tesla had already been feeling the backlash: consumers and the general public, particularly those incensed by his federal job and budget cutting, have protested outside Tesla stores and vandalised its EVs, in addition to Tesla owners "rebranding" their cars out of protest.
May 14, 2025: Tariff reprieve
Tesla gained more than 9 per cent to $347.68 from the close on May 12 – the day the US and China agreed to temporarily halt their tit-for-tat tariffs.
The company's stock would then remain largely steady, until Mr Musk departed from his role in the US government – leading to the public squabble with Mr Trump.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Infiniti QX80 specs
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Power: 450hp
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
Sunday's Super Four matches
Dubai, 3.30pm
India v Pakistan
Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
