June 6, 2025, 1:19 PM 3:19 President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House, March 11, 2025 in Washington. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, Files A feud between President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk hammered shares of the electric carmaker on Thursday, before a lull in the acrimony on Friday prompted a recovery of some losses. Still, as of midday Friday, shares had dropped nearly 10%, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in company value. The falling out between Trump and Musk raises serious concern for Tesla, threatening crucial regulatory approvals and government subsidies, while risking ire from conservative car buyers who may otherwise have eased sales woes suffered as liberals turned elsewhere, some industry analysts told ABC News. The outcome remains unclear, however, leaving open the possibility the two sides may patch up the relationship or Tesla could navigate fraught ties with the White House, they added. MORE: Trump tells ABC Musk 'lost his mind'; 'not particularly' interested in talking to him The feud “puts massive pressure on Tesla shares with fears that Trump will turn from friend to foe and create a tough regulatory environment for Musk in the Beltway,” Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush and a longtime Tesla bull, said in a memo to clients on Friday. The president and the world’s richest person volleyed tit-for-tat barbs on rival social media platforms Thursday in a public clash that Ives described as “one of the strangest Twilight Zone days we have seen.” Tesla shares sank as much as 18% on Thursday, before closing down 14%. In early trading on Friday, Tesla climbed nearly 6% as tensions appeared to thaw. Overall, the stock is down nearly a third from an all-time high in December, which resulted from a sharp rise after the election of Trump. Tesla remains a top electric carmaker but the company faces growing competition, especially from Chinese firms such as BYD. Tesla's profits fell 71% over the first three months of this year, a company earnings release in April showed. The decline coincided with a sales slump at Tesla and came amid worldwide protests against Musk over his role in Trump's administration. As car sales slowed, Musk touted a future autonomous car service, dubbed robotaxis, as a growth area for the business. The company plans to roll out its robotaxi test program in Austin, Texas, later this month. Trump could threaten those aspirations, however, if he pressures federal regulators to deny necessary approvals for the company’s autonomous driving program or renews investigations into the safety of the company's full self-driving software, analysts said. Popular Reads