Goodbye, Mr. Nice Guy - How Donald Trump Crashed Tesla and Turned Elon Musk Into a Liability

It started with a sentence. One of those sentences that are more than just an opinion - a harbinger. "I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it." What was meant was the termination of multi-billion-dollar government contracts with Elon Musk. And the one who said it was none other than Donald Trump - president, businessman, opportunist in a tailored suit. And at that moment, it was clear: the honeymoon phase between the most powerful man in the world and the richest was over. The markets reacted within seconds. In just three hours, Tesla shares lost more than 14 percent of their value. 150 billion dollars - erased as if by a stroke of a pen. More than the market capitalization of Starbucks, more than hundreds of well-known U.S. companies. A crash not caused by bad numbers, but by a shift in sentiment. A president who doesn’t hide his vengeance between the lines - but uses it as an economic policy tool. Just a few weeks ago, Musk had accompanied Trump on a state visit to the Middle East, announcing Starlink’s market entry in Saudi Arabia. Deals in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan followed - parallel to Trump’s economic saber-rattling. Diplomacy as leverage, technology as reward. Musk was not just a beneficiary - he was a piece in Trump’s geopolitical chessboard. But then the break. Elon Musk, who on his platform X called Trump’s budget policy a "disgusting monstrosity." The man who, in March, still posed with the president in a red Tesla on the White House lawn, suddenly became a target. A liability. A variable that could be eliminated.

Trump konterte wie immer – mit maximaler Wucht. Auf Truth Social Trump responded as always - with maximum force. On Truth Social, he declared that "Billions and Billions" could be saved by simply cutting Musk’s subsidies. A sentence with consequences. Not just for Tesla, but also for SpaceX, which carries out billion-dollar contracts for NASA - rocket launches, ISS missions, moon projects. Even Starlink, once a flagship of American innovation, now seems dependent on political grace. But at the center is Tesla. The company doesn’t just live off selling vehicles, but off the promise of a future: driverless robotaxis, autonomous traffic, software over hardware. Since Musk announced the launch of a test fleet in Austin, stock prices had been rising again. The optimism had returned - until Trump came. With a tweet. With a tone. With a threat.

Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush, put it plainly: "If the regulatory environment tightens, the whole plan gets delayed." And what if that’s exactly what Trump is planning? If a political retaliation becomes a systematic blockade? Many investors had a simple belief: Musk and Trump - that’s a dream team, a pact of disruption and deregulation. After Trump’s election victory in November, they poured into Tesla stock, lifting its market value by 450 billion dollars - in just a few weeks. It wasn’t an investment in numbers, but in proximity. In influence. In the hope that this government would accelerate everything Musk promised.

But power is fleeting. And proximity is dangerous when it becomes a one-way street. Musk, once celebrated as the head of the government’s efficiency task force, later became the target of boycotts - his reputation damaged, his company vulnerable. The myth of the apolitical visionary began to crack. Now it becomes clear how vulnerable even a giant like Tesla is when politics becomes currency. The prospect of robotaxis in 20 to 25 cities next year - suddenly uncertain again. The multi-billion valuations of SpaceX - called into question with a single tweet. Elon Musk’s personal wealth - down 20 billion in a single day. What remains is the image of two men who thought they could use each other - and now discover they are harming one another. Trump, who never forgets. Musk, who doesn’t obey. And a stock market that senses political closeness is no shield, but a gamble.

"Goodbye, Mr. Nice Guy" - it was a warning, not a farewell. Because in this world of vanity, power, and billions, no one is ever truly gone. But the tone has changed. And the trust - that’s gone.