Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) stock price plummeted 36% in the quarter, marking the worst performance in two years. Musk says 'now is a buying opportunity'.

Note that Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) stock just experienced its worst quarter since 2022 and faced its third largest drop in its 15-year history. The stock of this electric car manufacturer plummeted 36% in the first three months of this year. The last more severe drop occurred at the end of 2022, when the stock fell by 54%. This quarter included Musk selling over $22 billion worth of Tesla, Inc. stock to fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter (subsequently renamed to X). Last Friday, Musk announced that his AI startup xAI had acquired X, valuing the social media company at $33 billion. The first quarter stock drop of Tesla, Inc. resulted in a market value loss of over $460 billion. Most of this quarter overlapped with Musk's time in the second Trump administration, where he led efforts to cut government spending and regulations, and fired tens of thousands of federal employees. Musk led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As of Monday, the DOGE website claimed that as of March 24, the program had cut $140 billion from federal spending, less than a third of the market value loss in Tesla, Inc.'s first quarter. "My Tesla, Inc. stock and everyone else's who holds Tesla, Inc. stock has been cut by about half," Musk said at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday in support of a right-wing judge in the state's Supreme Court election on Tuesday. "What I want to say is, it's a very expensive job." The DOGE website had previously contained numerous inaccuracies, leading the organization to amend its claims about saving costs. Many of Musk's allegations about waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal budget have also been proven to be misleading or false. Musk recently told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview that he and the DOGE plan to cut $1 trillion from total federal spending before May. Musk's role in the White House is seen as a drag on Tesla, Inc.'s stock price, as it has sparked global protests, boycotts, and violent attacks against Tesla, Inc. stores and vehicles. Concerns over President Trump's auto tariffs also pose a worry as they involve Tesla, Inc.'s major suppliers, particularly in Mexico and China. Worries over tariffs led to a wider sell-off in tech stocks, with the Nasdaq index dropping 10% for the quarter, its largest decline since 2022. Tesla, Inc. also faces other adverse factors, such as a significant drop in new car sales and pressure from competitors expanding their lead in the market as Musk promises to launch self-driving ride-sharing services. Musk has said Tesla, Inc. will launch autonomous ride-sharing services in Austin, Texas by June, but some analysts doubt the company's ability to achieve this goal. For approximately 10 years, Musk has promised that existing Tesla, Inc. cars only need one more software upgrade to become self-driving ride-sharing vehicles. However, on the company's fourth quarter earnings call, Musk said the upcoming Tesla, Inc. fully automated driving software version also requires a hardware upgrade. Despite the first quarter stock drop causing pain for shareholders, they have recently experienced similar fluctuations. In the first quarter of 2024, Tesla, Inc. stock plummeted 29% due to declining car sales and increased competition. However, the stock rebounded for the rest of the year, eventually rising by 63%. "In the long run, I believe Tesla, Inc. stock will perform well," Musk said at the Green Bay rally. "So, you know, now might be a buying opportunity."