A renowned Tesla bear says he's selling stock after Musk's 'disaster' feud with Trump
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- Ross Gerber said that he's selling more Tesla stock in light of the Trump-Musk feud
- The Tesla bull-turned-bear believes Musk's actions are jeopardizing Tesla's business.
- Gerber also sees risks for Musk's other companies, such as SpaceX.
Ross Gerber said he is dumping more Tesla stock after Elon Musk's public falling out with President Donald Trump.
The Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management CEO told Bloomberg on Thursday that the Trump-Musk feud is a "disaster" for Tesla's CEO. Gerber ripped into Musk's erratic leadership style and the Tesla board's inaction.
Tesla stock plunged as much as 18% on Thursday before clawing back some losses to end the day 14% lower. It was the worst day for the stock since March. On Friday, the stock rose by as much as 6%.
"The board isn't going to do anything. Nobody's going to protect Tesla shareholders and the way you protect yourself is by selling stock," Gerber said. "I personally sold some Tesla stock today. We've been sellers for years and continue to be sellers of Tesla."
For Gerber, the episode is just the latest opportunity to pare exposure to the carmaker. While he was an early Tesla investor, Gerber has soured on the stock in recent years after expressing concerns about the company's business model and Musk's leadership.
In August 2024, Gerber disclosed selling approximately $60 million worth of Tesla shares, and he's continued to whittle his firm's holdings. In February, Gerber accurately predicted a 50% plunge in the stock price, and Gerber-Kawasaki's latest 13F filing revealed the sale of over 26,000 Tesla shares —about 10% of the firm's stake— in the first quarter of 2025.
Even after Tesla stock rebounded sharply from its most recent lows, Gerber remained unconvinced of the company's fundamentals and Musk's leadership.
Gerber said Thursday that Musk has a duty to shareholders to cooperate with the government due to his companies' dependence on government contracts.
The investor thinks the feud isn't just bad news for Tesla stock. Gerber also thinks it could negatively affect Musk's other companies such as SpaceX.
"SpaceX relies almost 100% on governments around the world and the US government to fund it, and this is an easy target because we don't need to go to Mars, that's for sure. And so who's going to pay for all this stuff?" Gerber said. "SpaceX valuation was probably cut in half today because of this behavior."