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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick went on TV to pump Tesla stock—but shares are falling amid massive Cybertruck recall
Tesla can’t seem to catch a break as anger over CEO Elon Musk’s interference in the U.S. government continues to spill over to his business. Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) fell about 2% early Thursday as investors continue to trim their positions and short the stock in the face of declining sales in Europe and China, amid Musk’s ongoing controversial behavior. The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month, and 42% since the beginning of 2025. And by some estimates, Musk has lost more than $100 billion since December. More bad news for the EV giant on Thursday: Tesla announced it was recalling 46,096 Cybertruck vehicles in the U.S. to fix a defective exterior panel that could detach while driving. It’s just another in a series of setbacks for Cybertruck owners, some who claim they have been “threatened and harassed” as targets of anti-Musk hostility. In an effort to buoy support for Musk from inside the Trump administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Americans to buy Tesla stock during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, aggravating critics who pointed out Cabinet secretaries don’t typically recommend individual stocks, especially those linked to a person working for the administration. (It’s a deep conflict of interest.) Another issue: Lutnick’s former investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Tesla’s stock just hours before the appearance. The investment bank is now run by Lutnick’s sons. As CNBC pointed out, federal government employees are legally prohibited from using their “government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise,” save for a few exceptions. This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has brazenly come out in support of Musk and Tesla. Just last week, the president held a photo opportunity at the White House with Musk where he literally got in a Tesla and told Americans: “I am going to buy one.” “Here’s the bad news, I’m not allowed to drive, but I am going to have it at the White House,” Trump said—adding, as he stood next to Musk: “And he has never asked me for a thing.”
Tesla can’t seem to catch a break as anger over CEO Elon Musk’s interference in the U.S. government continues to spill over to his business. Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) fell about 2% early Thursday as investors continue to trim their positions and short the stock in the face of declining sales in Europe and China, amid Musk’s ongoing controversial behavior.
The stock is down 5% in the last five days, 35% in the last month, and 42% since the beginning of 2025. And by some estimates, Musk has lost more than $100 billion since December.
More bad news for the EV giant on Thursday: Tesla announced it was recalling 46,096 Cybertruck vehicles in the U.S. to fix a defective exterior panel that could detach while driving. It’s just another in a series of setbacks for Cybertruck owners, some who claim they have been “threatened and harassed” as targets of anti-Musk hostility.
In an effort to buoy support for Musk from inside the Trump administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Americans to buy Tesla stock during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, aggravating critics who pointed out Cabinet secretaries don’t typically recommend individual stocks, especially those linked to a person working for the administration. (It’s a deep conflict of interest.) Another issue: Lutnick’s former investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Tesla’s stock just hours before the appearance. The investment bank is now run by Lutnick’s sons.
As CNBC pointed out, federal government employees are legally prohibited from using their “government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise,” save for a few exceptions.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has brazenly come out in support of Musk and Tesla. Just last week, the president held a photo opportunity at the White House with Musk where he literally got in a Tesla and told Americans: “I am going to buy one.”
“Here’s the bad news, I’m not allowed to drive, but I am going to have it at the White House,” Trump said—adding, as he stood next to Musk: “And he has never asked me for a thing.”
