Niamh Shackleton
It's been a bad day (or year, should we say) at the office for Elon Musk.
Musk, who is a close ally of Donald Trump and the current head of the president's controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has lost a staggering amount of money this year so far.
With his alliance with Trump in mind, apparently the multibillionaire's Tesla stock took a huge hit back in January when the newly-elected president came into office.
And things have only gotten worse for the once-leading electric vehicle manufacturer in more ways than one.
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Tesla cars and dealerships have been targeted in attacks of late, sparking Trump to bring in a 'Tesla task force' to tackle the issue.
Musk himself has addressed the ongoing violence and expressed his surprise.
"It is remarkable that there is so much violence, people have had burnt cars, they have fired bullets into dealerships, they have scratched swastikas into Teslas of innocent people, they are just going about their lives," he told Fox News.
Musk continued: "The president has made it clear that we are going to go after those who are paying and organizing these violent attacks and attorney general Bondi has said the same thing."
In light of Telsa-owners being targeted, sales of the EVs have dropped by 13 percent in 2025's first quarter, Reuters reports.
In another blow to the car manufacturer, Trump's recently imposed tariffs will affect Tesla as it sources a lot of its car parts from foreign countries.
Yesterday (April 3), a new 25 percent levy on cars and parts imported into the US came into force, and the tariffs on car parts will begin May 3.
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HOW TRUMP'S TARIFFS WILL 'SIGNIFICANTLY' IMPACT TESLA
It was hoped that Tesla wouldn't be too badly affected by the president's harsh tariff changes as it makes many of its cars in America, but apparently 20 to 25 percent of Tesla parts are imported from other countries, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
With all this in mind, Musk is said to have lost an eye-watering $11 billion yesterday, according to Bloomberg, and $110 billion overall this year so far.
The recent loss came after Tesla stocks dropped 5.5 percent.
And Tesla isn't the only manufacturer to be affected, as some vehicles could go on to become thousands of dollars more expensive than before.
Sharing its forecast for the motoring industry post-Trump's tariffs, Anderson Economic Group (AEG) said: "The large SUV category includes models assembled in the US with parts from Canada, Mexico, and Europe, and having relatively high [manufacturer's suggested retail prices].
"These vehicles are expected to see a tariff impact of $10,000 to $12,000, with some battery-electric vehicles incurring a potential tariff exceeding $15,000."
UNILAD has contacted Tesla for comment.