Elon Musk lost $11 billion in a single day after Donald Trump’s new tariffs took effect, according to Bloomberg. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a close ally of Trump, was one of several U.S. billionaires whose wealth took a significant hit.
Musk, who also heads the president’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has seen a staggering decline in his fortune this year.
The U.S. stock market took a sharp downturn on Thursday, the first day of trading after Trump’s tariff announcement. Tesla, in particular, took a heavy blow due to lower vehicle deliveries, with its stock losing another 5.6%.
JPMorgan’s Q1 report pointed to “unprecedented brand damage” to Tesla, which they had warned about in a previous report. The bank even suggested they may have underestimated the consumer backlash to Tesla’s cars in the wake of Musk’s political involvement.
The broader market also suffered. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,679 points, or nearly 4%. The Nasdaq, which is tech-heavy, fell nearly 6%, and the S&P 500 dropped 4.8%, marking its worst day since 2020.
This sell-off particularly hit multinational companies with global supply chains. Nike’s stock fell 14%, Apple dropped 9%, and Amazon lost nearly 9%. Other major tech companies, including Meta (Facebook’s parent company), saw their shares fall nearly 9%, and chipmaker Nvidia dropped 7%.
Tesla, under Musk’s leadership, saw its stock drop 5%.
U.S. retailers that rely on imports were also affected. Dollar Tree dropped 13%, and Five Below lost 27%.
Trump had said the tariffs would reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods, but the stock market’s reaction suggested fears of a worsening trade war.
Trump’s New Tariffs
On Wednesday, Trump revealed a sweeping set of tariffs during an event at the White House. He declared the day “Liberation Day,” claiming it would usher in a new era for American industry.
“April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” Trump said from the Rose Garden.
The new tariffs include a 10% minimum tax on goods from all trading partners, along with higher, more specific tariffs for certain countries, including China, the European Union, and Taiwan.
Trump also displayed a chart showing the new tariffs, with China facing the highest at 34%. This is in addition to the 20% tariff already imposed, bringing the total tariff on China to 54%.
Though it’s still too early to fully assess the impact of these tariffs, some experts have warned that they could harm the economy and lead to job losses. Import duties could raise the cost of raw materials for U.S. businesses, potentially leading to higher prices and lower spending by businesses and consumers.
Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University, told ABC News that these worries could push the U.S. into a recession.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, called the tariffs “the fodder for an economic downturn.”
