Of Liam Denning*

Its mixture of wealth and celebrity Masculinecombined with its wide range of high -tech businesses around the world (and above it), makes him not look like other entrepreneurs who seek the favor of the White House. Its prominent role in the government of the US president Donald Trump As a de facto head of the Department of Government Effectiveness (Doge) he has made some analysts call him a “co -president”.

But the post -election “rise” to Musk’s main asset, Tesla’s shares, evaporated last week. Musk’s proximity to Trump gave an initial boost to his fortune, raising it to nearly $ 500 billion in mid -December, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The subsequent drop to $ 314 billion reflects, in part, the corrosive effect of this proximity to Tesla’s trademark. Last week, there was no evidence that Musk’s approach to the government’s efficiency by the Slash-and-Burn method also enrages some to the Trump cabinet.

Numerous business Titans have wandered Trump’s orbit from his rise to the presidency in 2017. Many quickly fell into disadvantage. If Musk also has this fate, the fact that he has linked his identity and corporate history so closely with the president, would put himself and his business empire in a vulnerable position.

Musk remains the richest man in the world despite the fall of Tesla by 40% this year. But his participation in the manufacturer of electric vehicles, in a “collection” that also includes Space Exploration Technologies and X, is the most obvious source of personal liquidity. Until about a year ago, Musk had committed 58% of his shares in the company as a loan guarantee. When he bought the X Twitter, he sold Tesla shares worth a tens of billions of dollars. Having bounced somewhat from the low point of Monday, Tesla is still very expensive, negotiating almost 90 times future profits, compared to 21 times for the S&P 500 index. Some analysts have begun to reduce their price estimates and price targets in view of the results of their first -time sales and results China.

Tesla’s share is more than just an asset for Musk. There has been something like a poll, a kind of real -time verdict for Musk in the Doge era – which can be summarized as euphoria that develops into frustration, with a dose of panic. The recent Selloff, in terms of 30-day change, even overshadows the crash in late 2022, when Musk was shaking shares during the Twitter acquisition, and is the steeper one of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. For investors, the hopes of helping Trump in the “revolution” of Robotaxi by relaxing the regulations have conflicted with the concentration of evidence that Musk’s entry into the government is damaging the trademark of the manufacturer of electric vehicles, and needs all the help it can get.

This coincides with signs of tension inside the White House. A New York Times report from the interior of a recent cabinet meeting has brought to light tensions about the role of Musk. Several members, including Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, opposed Musk’s sweeping job cuts in front of Trump. The president allegedly showed his support for Musk, but also cut off his wings, saying that the ministers would be responsible for cuts in their respective services, with Doge simply advising. Shortly afterwards, Musk gave a television interview in which he stood out the costs of social benefits as a key goal of cuts, obviously with Trump’s promise not to touch social security and Medicare benefits.

Trump was surrounded by a number of corporate Titans at the beginning of his first term. Initially in love with their prestige and business skills, the president eventually disagreed with many of them, causing dismissals and resignations of a high profile from a administration characterized by an incessant rotation. Rex Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobil – then among the 10 most valuable listed companies in the world – brought international experience as a foreign minister. He left a little more than a year amid reports of differences in political views, tensions with Trump’s son -in -law, Jared Kussner, and, above all, a claim that Tillerson had referred to the president as “stupid”. Gary Kon, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, lasted about the same year as director of the National Economic Council, offended by Trump’s ambiguous response to the violence of supporters of “White Tribe” at the 2017 rally in 2017.

These historical examples, as well as the personalities of Musk and Trump, have fueled the speculations that this strange couple will split due to a conflict of selfishness. Musk at the present maintains his influence on the US president, on services that regulate or conclude contracts with his companies. And Trump benefits from the fact that he has a rich, prominent donor who controls a large platform of social media.

But Trump’s decision to turn the White House into a Tesla exhibition this week to support Musk, served as a strange advertisement that not all is good. A healthy brand of vehicles would not need the president to commit to characterizing the protesters in her stores domestic terrorists.

Recent polls show that the majority of Americans have a negative view of Musk and Doge. And the series of Musk’s recent failures coincides with alarming signs of decline in Trump’s own popularity at the beginning of his term. Its net acceptance rate, which was positive 6.2% around its swearing -in, was just converted to a negative 0.7%, according to averages drawn up by RealClearpolitics. The brokerage market, another measure that Trump is occasionally viewed as a referendum, has been shocked in front of all -duty tariff policies, with the S&P 500 losing all its post -election profits. A new CNN poll found that the acceptance of Trump’s handling of the economy is lower than at any other time during his first term.

Musk’s tight, theatrical embrace with Trump highlights the president’s priority in dedication. He also makes Mask vulnerable if his dashboard indicators start blinking red lights, especially if the president feels pressured at the same time. Trump is unstable. If he faces serious reactions to, say, cuts of social benefits or a great deal, such as a recession, he may well decide that Musk should take responsibility on his behalf. Moreover, before their alliance last year, the two had a history of exchanging insults.

Who would have the lead in such a “separation”? Trump may lose the money and fans of Musk and the favor on X. On the other hand, the last decade has offered plenty of evidence of the durability of Trump’s own fan base and has no right to re -nominate a president. In addition, Trump’s ability to turn the attention of federal regulators as well as his own fans in Musk companies would be a deterrent to any counterattack.

Meanwhile, Musk is now alleged to seek another $ 100 million to Trump groups.

The recent decline in Tesla’s share is partly due to a reaction against the relationship with Trump. Having introduced politics so deep into the investment history of Tesla and his other businesses, Musk now has to live with the fact that what Trump gives can get them back.

*Liam Denning is a column of the Bloomberg Opinion column and covers energy issues.