That burning smell is Trump setting fire to Tesla stock

Trending downward.

A top adviser to President Donald Trump and world’s richest man Elon Musk has seen his electric vehicle company’s stock continue to fall.

It comes as U.S. stocks ended another tumultuous day lower as markets reel from Trump’s latest threats to crank his tariffs higher.

The S&P 500 sank 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 349 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives says Elon Musk’s association with President Trump and his tariffs will turn off potential Tesla buyers in China, the company’s second-largest market. Ives writes that Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics is destroying demand for his electric vehicles in the U.S. and Europe, too.

“This could be a brutal year ahead if Musk does not exit stage left or take a step back on (the Department of Government Efficiency) in the coming month,” Ives wrote, referring to the Tesla CEO’s leadership of the government cost-cutting group. “With major protests erupting globally at Tesla dealerships, Tesla cars being keyed, and a full brand crisis tornado turning into a life of its own, this has cast a dark black cloud over Tesla’s stock.”

Even before Trump’s tariffs, Tesla stock had plunged more than 40% from its mid-December high.

Ives’ new price target of $315 still assumes big gains. Tesla was trading Monday morning at $229, down more than 4%.

By day’s end, Tesla was selling for just less than $222.

Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three months of the year.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives and could be a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.