{"id":147334,"date":"2025-06-07T03:09:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T03:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/tesla-spacex-what-challenges-does-musks-business-face-in-the-war-against-trump\/"},"modified":"2025-06-07T03:09:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T03:09:50","slug":"tesla-spacex-what-challenges-does-musks-business-face-in-the-war-against-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/tesla-spacex-what-challenges-does-musks-business-face-in-the-war-against-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla, SpaceX\u2026 What challenges does Musk&#8217;s business face in the war against Trump?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div layout=\"desktop\">\n<p>In the \u00a0United States\u00a0, the once-cozy relationship between \u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0 and \u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0 has devolved into a public clash. This conflict, far from being merely a Twitter spat, has significant implications for Musk&#8217;s major ventures, which include \u00a0Tesla\u00a0, \u00a0SpaceX\u00a0, and his latest endeavor in artificial intelligence, \u00a0xAI\u00a0.<\/p>\n<p>As the former president leverages government resources against his adversaries, Musk&#8217;s companies may soon find themselves facing unprecedented regulatory and financial hurdles.<\/p>\n<h2>Tesla: The Electrical Threatened by Short-Circuiting<\/h2>\n<p>Already grappling with a dramatic decline in international sales, \u00a0Tesla\u00a0 could be the first to suffer from this escalating feud. In May alone, registrations plummeted by \u00a067%\u00a0 year-on-year in \u00a0France\u00a0, \u00a036%\u00a0 in Germany, and over \u00a045%\u00a0 in the United Kingdom. Analysts attribute this decline to intensifying \u00a0Chinese competition\u00a0 and a \u00a0boycott\u00a0 from some consumers. However, it is in the legislative arena where the real danger lurks. Trump&#8217;s budget proposal aims to eliminate the \u00a0$7,500 federal tax credit\u00a0 for electric vehicle purchases.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-media\" role=\"group\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Musk and Trump Separate...And Settle Their Scores Publicly\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ultimedia.com\/deliver\/generic\/iframe\/mdtk\/01357940\/zone\/1\/src\/300xqq5\/showtitle\/1\/\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" vspace=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"true\" mozallowfullscreen=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis is a threat to the entire electric vehicle sector in the United States,\u201d warns an analyst cited by the <span class=\"text-italic\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/musk-trump-fallout-stakes-51bf1b5c?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAgYODDlmyiquaeJDUjuVM0BK54MpMoBJkK1JWhhDpTAX6Zh5eX8wkDJe_Jnzfk%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68437e7a&amp;gaa_sig=PBshxj34TnwOXfePd6-18YXPS1VmmABlblNSybF3kkbUJR7Qb9gvX1nCncKF3NqZEWiOSDcu4E7jVOwXLxSJ8g%3D%3D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"color-ultramarine c-link\">Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/span>, foreseeing a potential demand contraction of \u00a030% to 40%\u00a0. Even more concerning, Trump signed a decree in early April canceling a key mechanism in Tesla&#8217;s business model: the California \u00a0carbon credit system\u00a0. This system allowed the manufacturer to sell approximately \u00a0$2 billion\u00a0 worth of credits annually to more polluting brands.<\/p>\n<h2>SpaceX: Federal Contracts Under Scrutiny<\/h2>\n<p>The crown jewel of Musk&#8217;s ventures, \u00a0SpaceX\u00a0, could face backlash as well. According to \u00a0AFP\u00a0, the public contracts secured by the company since its inception exceed \u00a0$22 billion\u00a0, as noted by \u00a0Reuters\u00a0. With clients like \u00a0NASA\u00a0 and the \u00a0Department of Defense\u00a0, the U.S. government has long been SpaceX&#8217;s primary customer, with billions in future commitments already signed.<\/p>\n<p>However, this dependence could turn against the company. Trump has made it clear he will not hesitate to use government tools to weaken those he perceives as enemies. Another area of vulnerability is \u00a0Starlink\u00a0, SpaceX&#8217;s subsidiary that deploys thousands of satellites to provide global internet coverage. Sensitive contracts with federal agencies are currently under negotiation, and political intervention could easily derail these discussions or halt their implementation.<\/p>\n<h2>xAI: Excluded from U.S. AI Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p>Launched in the summer of \u00a02023\u00a0, \u00a0xAI\u00a0 is Musk&#8217;s latest innovation in the world of generative \u00a0artificial intelligence\u00a0. With this startup, the billionaire aims to rival \u00a0OpenAI\u00a0 and promote his vision of a &#8220;free&#8221; and &#8220;open-source&#8221; AI. However, xAI&#8217;s international ambitions are also jeopardized by the cooling relations with the \u00a0White House\u00a0.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-placeholder u-placeholder-twitter\">\n<div class=\"embed-wrapper u-hidden\">\n<div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" align=\"center\" data-lang=\"fr_FR\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I support <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@elonmusk<\/a> and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country. <\/p>\n<p>We are much stronger together than apart.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BillAckman\/status\/1930738907081331040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">June 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"p-xxl@xs border-color-grey-200 radius-l@xs cmp-placeholder u-hidden\">\n<p class=\"mb-m@xs text-l@xs\">By clicking \u201cI Accept\u201d, you consent to the placement of cookies by external services and will thus have access to our partners&#8217; content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-xl@xs text-s@xs\">More information on the page<a href=\"https:\/\/www.20minutes.fr\/gestion-cookies\" class=\"mx-xxs@xs color-ultramarine\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cookie Management Policy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"mx-auto@xs flex@xs items-center@xs justify-center@xs gap-xxs@xs c-btn c-btn--primary cmp-button\">I Accept<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to \u00a0CNBC\u00a0, Musk attempted, in May, to force xAI&#8217;s inclusion in a large-scale digital infrastructure project run by \u00a0OpenAI\u00a0 and backed by the \u00a0United Arab Emirates\u00a0. He even suggested that Trump would only validate the agreement if his startup was included. This diplomatic pressure attempt failed and might backfire. It is crucial to note that the Trump administration views AI as a strategic leverage point. In this context, Washington encourages allied countries to prioritize American technologies, a move some media already label as &#8220;AI diplomacy.&#8221; If xAI were to be excluded from this framework, it would find itself sidelined.<\/p>\n<h2>A High-Cost Showdown for Elon Musk<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond industrial stakes, this crisis has already had severe repercussions on the stock market. In the days following the initial confrontations between the two men, Tesla&#8217;s stock fell by \u00a014%\u00a0, erasing \u00a0$152 billion\u00a0 in market capitalization. Musk\u2019s personal fortune was slashed by more than \u00a0$34 billion\u00a0 in just one week, according to \u00a0Bloomberg\u00a0. Even Musk&#8217;s most loyal investors are beginning to question the billionaire&#8217;s confrontational strategy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.20minutes.fr\/dossier\/elon_musk\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"c-link c-btn c-btn--primary\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">All our articles on Elon Musk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite this escalation, some observers glimpse a potential reconciliation. Financier Bill Ackman has proposed mediating between the two billionaires, as detailed by \u00a0Business Insider\u00a0. Musk has publicly endorsed this idea on X, but Trump has thus far rejected any extended hand. Time will reveal whether this crisis signifies a definitive break or merely a chapter in the ongoing political and economic saga featuring these two prominent figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the \u00a0United States\u00a0, the once-cozy relationship between \u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0 and \u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0 has devolved into a public clash. This conflict, far from being merely a Twitter spat, has significant implications for Musk&#8217;s major ventures, which include \u00a0Tesla\u00a0, \u00a0SpaceX\u00a0, and his latest endeavor in artificial intelligence, \u00a0xAI\u00a0. As the former president leverages government resources against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}