Tech mogul Elon Musk has seen his net worth plunge by a staggering $34 billion following a heated fallout with United States President Donald Trump over a controversial federal budget bill. The sharp decline marks the second-largest single-day wealth loss ever recorded by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
According to Bloomberg, Tesla shares dropped by 14% on Thursday, ending the day at $284.70, largely contributing to the billionaire’s financial hit. Musk’s loss trails only behind his November 2021 wipeout in scale.
The feud between Musk and Trump escalated earlier this week when Musk, in a series of pointed social media posts, fiercely criticised the newly passed budget bill. He claimed he had no prior knowledge of the bill’s contents, countering Trump’s assertion that Musk had been closely involved.
“False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter).
President Trump had earlier accused Musk of betrayal, saying he was disappointed with the billionaire’s public disapproval of the budget. Speaking during a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump remarked, “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here.”
Musk responded forcefully, denying any involvement and slamming the legislation as a “disgusting abomination.”
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it,” Musk wrote.
He warned that the bill would worsen the already ballooning U.S. deficit. “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to _2.5 trillion and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,” he said.
The legislation reportedly includes an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, along with $46.5 billion earmarked for U.S.-Mexico border barriers—key components of Trump’s policy agenda.
Trump, in turn, threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts awarded to Musk’s companies, a move that further rattled investors and contributed to the drop in Tesla’s stock value.
Musk, who briefly served in an advisory role during Trump’s administration, declared that Trump owes him for his electoral success. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” Musk claimed, stating he helped Republicans maintain Senate control.
Despite their past cooperation, the public clash between Musk and Trump reveals deepening political and financial rifts at the highest levels of American power and business. Whether the tensions will cool—or ignite further turmoil—remains to be seen.
