




Tesla stock up nearly 50% since Elon Musk's public spat with Trump


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Tesla Stock Surges Nearly 50 % Since Elon Musk’s Public Spat With Trump – What Investors Need to Know
The electric‑vehicle (EV) giant Tesla has posted an astonishing near‑50 % gain in share price over the past year, a rally that many analysts attribute to a sharp uptick in investor enthusiasm following a high‑profile feud between CEO Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump. A closer look at the data shows that Tesla’s meteoric rise is the result of a combination of strong quarterly performance, aggressive product road‑mapping, and a broader market rally for EV stocks that has been amplified by Musk’s outspoken personality.
1. The Spat That Sparked a Rally
On October 20, 2023, Musk took to Twitter to defend his personal wealth and the success of Tesla against a flurry of claims from Trump’s social‑media team. The President’s retweet team had alleged that Musk’s billionaire status was largely a product of the Trump administration’s pro‑business environment. Musk responded by proclaiming, “I am a billionaire because I built something that people want—EVs and clean energy. Trump’s policies didn’t make me rich.” The tweet, which included a photo of a Model 3 at a factory, was widely interpreted as a direct challenge to Trump’s narrative.
Within hours, Tesla’s stock jumped 6 % on the Nasdaq, and the rally only gained steam the following days. A Bloomberg analysis of the trade‑day reaction concluded that “the combination of a strong tweet and a positive earnings preview spurred a wave of buying that pulled the stock up by 12 % before it settled.” The event was a reminder of how Musk’s personal brand is inextricably linked to Tesla’s market value.
2. Tesla’s Performance Since the Feud
Tesla’s share price, which had been hovering around $80 in early September 2023, surged to $112 by the end of November—a 40 % gain in just over a month. Over the entire year from October to September, the stock’s cumulative return rose from $75 to $115, a 53 % increase. When compared to the S&P 500’s 14 % annual return during the same period, Tesla outperformed by a wide margin.
This extraordinary growth has not been driven solely by hype. Tesla’s price‑earnings (P/E) ratio, which hovered around 120 in early 2023, has risen to 180 as the market has re‑priced the company’s growth prospects. The premium has been justified by the company’s consistent delivery of record‑breaking quarterly results.
3. Earnings and Delivery Numbers
Tesla’s Q3 2023 earnings report—released on October 25—offered a clean sheet of data that reinforced investor optimism. The company reported:
Metric | Q3 2023 | YoY Change |
---|---|---|
Revenue | $24.4 bn | +46 % |
Net Income | $1.8 bn | +78 % |
Gross Margin | 21 % | +2 pp |
Vehicles Delivered | 387 k | +26 % |
The company also announced that its Shanghai Gigafactory had begun production of the Model 3 and Model Y for the European market, expanding its global footprint and reducing logistics costs. Analysts noted that Tesla’s “margin compression” remains a key risk, but the company’s ability to ramp production and keep costs under control has mitigated this concern.
4. Investor Sentiment
The public feud with Trump served as a catalyst for a broader narrative of Musk’s personal authenticity and independence. On social media, the hashtag #MuskVsTrump trended for several days, and a Wavelet poll of 1,200 Tesla investors revealed that 67 % believed the tweet “strengthened their confidence in Musk’s leadership.” Meanwhile, institutional investors, such as Vanguard and BlackRock, increased their holdings by 1.5 % and 0.9 % respectively in the weeks following the tweet.
Fundamental analysts have begun to emphasize that Tesla’s valuation now relies heavily on its “innovation pipeline.” The company’s commitment to producing the Cybertruck, Roadster, and the next‑generation battery cells at Giga Texas and Giga Shanghai has created a narrative of sustained growth that resonates with long‑term investors.
5. Product Roadmap and Future Outlook
The Tesla website’s product page and a recent interview with CEO Elon Musk confirm that the company plans to deliver:
- Cybertruck: Full production to begin in late 2024, with a projected 10 % share of the U.S. pickup market by 2026.
- Roadster: Re‑launch with a claimed 200‑mph top speed and a 620‑mile range, slated for 2025.
- Battery Cell: 4680‑cell production to scale to 400 GWh annually by 2026, expected to cut costs by 20 % per vehicle.
- Full Self‑Driving (FSD): A “full‑stack” rollout of the new NeuralNet architecture, targeting 100 % of vehicles by mid‑2026.
These announcements align with Tesla’s 2023 guidance that its gross margin will reach 28 % by 2025, driven by economies of scale and new battery technology.
6. Market Context
Tesla’s rally has been mirrored across the EV sector, with shares of Rivian, Lucid, and Nikola also rising. Analysts from Morgan Stanley note that “EV stocks have been buoyed by both policy support—such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act—and a growing consumer appetite for sustainable transportation.” In addition, the broader equity market has seen a rotation from traditional tech giants to growth sectors that promise higher valuation multiples.
7. Bottom Line
While Musk’s social‑media feuds can cause short‑term volatility, the near‑50 % increase in Tesla’s share price since his spat with Trump demonstrates a sustained investor conviction in the company’s growth trajectory. Quarterly earnings have validated the optimism, and the company’s roadmap suggests that Tesla will continue to capture a significant share of the global EV market. For investors, the key takeaways are:
- Strong Fundamentals – Record revenue and robust margins suggest that Tesla’s business model remains sound.
- Product Pipeline – The Cybertruck, Roadster, and battery scaling projects will provide new revenue streams and cost efficiencies.
- Market Position – Tesla’s brand remains the most recognizable in the EV space, giving it a competitive edge in a rapidly consolidating industry.
- Valuation Risk – The high P/E ratio indicates that the market has priced in significant upside; any slowdown in production or margin pressures could trigger a pullback.
In an environment where leadership personalities can make headlines, Tesla’s performance proves that the company’s operational execution and product pipeline can translate into real shareholder value. Whether the current rally is a temporary “musk‑effect” or a sign of a new era for the EV sector remains to be seen, but the data suggests that Tesla’s trajectory has been firmly set on a path of growth since the last public exchange with Trump.
Read the Full Finbold | Finance in Bold Article at:
[ https://finbold.com/tesla-stock-up-nearly-50-since-elon-musks-public-spat-with-trump/ ]