Elon Musk begs Tesla staff not to sell shares following Trump backlash

Elon Musk has urged Tesla employees to keep their shares in the company amid backlash.

In the weeks following the start of Trump’s second presidential term, the electric car maker has experienced a tumble in its share price, as well as arson attacks on Tesla showrooms and cars.

The backlash has been linked to Musk’s unwavering support for his buddy Trump. He always plays a key role in the running of the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which has led to the people losing their jobs as Musk seeks to curb government spending.

People are now taking out their animosity towards Musk on his cars. The backlash led to the president speaking out in support of Tesla, vowing to buy one himself at a media event outside the White House which saw Trump and Musk having their photo taken inside a red Model S.

In a meeting that described concerns about the company’s share price, Musk told Tesla employees to “hang on” to their shares, The Telegraph reports. He said recent news coverage felt “like Armageddon” but insisted the future of the company was strong, including the future launch of its Optimus humanoid robots.

He said: “I can’t walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire. You’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ You know, some people, it’s like, ‘I understand if you don’t want to buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down, that’s a bit unreasonable.’

Trump shared his unwavering support for Musk and TeslaGetty

“Like, this is psycho. Stop being psycho!”

Musk added: “It’s very difficult for people in the stock market, especially those looking in the rear-view mirror – which is most people – to imagine a future where suddenly a 10m vehicle fleet has five to 10 times the usefulness,” he added.

“It’s so profound, and there’s no comparison with anything in the past, that they just can’t – it does not compute.

“But it will compute, in the future. And some people do see the future. So what I’m saying is, hang on to your stock.”

And regarding Optimus, he said: “My prediction on this part is that Optimus will be the biggest product of all time, by far. Nothing will even be close.

“I think it will be 10 times bigger than the next biggest product ever made, like that level.”

Indy100 has contacted Tesla for further comment.

Tesla’s market capitalisation fell from around $1.2 trillion (£930bn) to $740bn in less than three months.

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