Robotic arms assemble Tesla's Model at the company's California factory. Pic: Reuters Amid the public fallout between Mr Trump and the man who helped bankroll his election campaign, the president renewed his efforts to cut green industry subsidies. In a Truth Social post Mr Trump said: "Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and, without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa." Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, where previously he had posed with Mr Musk alongside a selection of Tesla models, the president added: "Elon hates that the electric vehicle mandate is going to be terminated." Tesla's worldwide sales have also declined in the face of increased competition and consumer unease about Mr Musk's previous support for the president. Gordon Johnson, an investment analyst and prominent Tesla sceptic, told Sky News: "The changes that Trump is proposing have significant implications - negative implications - for Tesla's fundamentals. "If all of these government programmes were taken away, Tesla would go into losing money and burning cash and the stock would implode." Image: Donald Trump and Elon Musk in front of a red Model S Tesla in March 2025. Credit: AP Ross Gerber became one of Tesla's earliest investors after having what he calls "an amazing epiphany" when he saw the Tesla S-Class for the first time. "I thought, 'wow, this could actually change the way we travel'," he said.  Now he is selling his Tesla stock and considering offloading his Tesla Cybertruck because of the hostility it attracts. "Elon's playing a very dangerous game," he added. Green incentives drove Tesla's growth Tesla has long benefited from subsidies offered in the US, and by governments around the world, to incentivise the take-up of electric vehicles and low-carbon technologies. In America, regulatory credits are an incentive intended to encourage car manufacturers to meet targets for EV production. Several states, led by California, use them to enforce a "zero-emission vehicles mandate", under which manufacturers are required to produce a certain proportion of EVs as part of their overall output. Image: A Tesla Model X car at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. Pic: Reuters Because Tesla only makes electric vehicles, it earns credits at no cost and profits from selling them to manufacturers producing petrol and diesel vehicles, which need them to meet any shortfall against state targets.  Around a dozen US states and numerous European governments, including the UK, operate similar programmes. In June, however, the president signed resolutions removing California's authority to set mandatory targets - a move that endangers similar programmes in other states. Tesla customers also benefited from the federal grant of $7,500 available to buyers of any electric car. Mr Johnson said: "The $7,500 subsidy that you get if you buy an electric car - that doesn't go to Tesla. But removing it means Tesla's cars immediately increase by $7,500 in value which would have significant implications for their demand." "The EV subsidies are just crucially important," Mr Gerber said.  Tesla also has a burgeoning energy business selling domestic and commercial solar that could be impacted by the withdrawal of a tax credit worth up to 60% of the cost of a system. Tesla's energy division generated $10bn in revenue last year. Cuts and competition challenge Tesla's 'Technoking' The withdrawal of subsidies is one of many challenges Tesla and its self-appointed "Technoking" Mr Musk face to its dominance in a market it helped create. It is only 18 years since the first Tesla Roadster rolled off a production line to the delight of early adopters and the scepticism of America's established car manufacturers. Mr Musk's packaging of battery electric vehicles as not just virtuous but desirable and reliable too worked spectacularly, driven in large part by his personal popularity and profile on social media.  Image: Elon Musk poses after his company's initial public offering at the NASDAQ market in 2010. Pic: Reuters His drive helped the company overcome the enormous technical challenges of establishing a mass vehicle manufacturer from scratch, and he was quick to exploit the advantages of placing production in China where an entire auto industry had been directed at electrification. "When I started with Tesla, there were no EVs, and it was Elon making EVs," recalls Mr Gerber. "And now, 10 years later, there are EVs everywhere. They're the fastest growing segment of the car market." Tesla's growth was aided by governments around the world offering subsidies and tax breaks to consumers and companies to accelerate the transition to low-carbon transport.  Image: