Tesla stock plunged on Monday with its largest single-day decline in several years amid a broad-based market sell-off amid concerns about a potential recession and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
Tesla shares declined 15.4% during Monday’s trading session amid weakness in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. That was the largest single-day percentage decline since September 2020, when it fell more than 21% in a single day.
In 2025 so far, Tesla stock is down 41.4% year-to-date, including a decline of more than 36.6% in the past month. Since Tesla reached its all-time largest market capitalization of $1.5 trillion on Dec. 17, its stock has fallen by more than half to a new market cap of $696 billion as of March 10.
UBS cut its forecast for first-quarter deliveries, which contributed to the sell-off, along with broader concerns about the U.S. economy facing a recession and a widening trade war amid Trump’s tariff threats. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 890.01 points, or 2.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slid 4% and 2.69%, respectively.
STOCKS TUMBLE ON RECESSION FEARS, TRUMP TARIFF UNCERTAINTY
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 222.15 | -40.52 | -15.43% |
Tesla’s slide comes as CEO Elon Musk has taken on a significant advisory role with the Trump administration as the de facto leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, which critics have argued is a distraction from his role at the helm of Tesla.
Musk is also the CEO of aerospace firm SpaceX, artificial intelligence startup xAI and a prolific poster on X, the social media platform he owns.
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Over the last year, Musk has touted Tesla’s pivot toward robotaxis away from mass-volume production of a “Model 2” vehicle with a lower price point, around $25,000 for consumers. It currently aims to have autonomous robotaxis operating in Austin, Texas, by June with a broader driverless-vehicle launch by the end of the year.
The pivot to his robotaxi plans helped spur a 71% rise in the company’s stock from its 2024 low in April through the November election, even as its EV sales stalled and profits declined.
Tesla stock more than doubled in the weeks after Trump’s election, which Musk aided by spending more than $250 million. The stock has generally trended down since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
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The automaker also faces headwinds from the Trump administration’s policies as the White House opposes the sort of EV tax credits and subsidies that were offered by the Biden administration and helped make EVs more affordable for consumers. Musk has dismissed the impact of lost subsidies on Tesla, saying the change will hurt rivals more.
In terms of the market’s broader economic concerns, Trump on Sunday declined to explicitly rule out a full-blown recession for the U.S. economy, telling Maria Bartiromo in a “Sunday Morning Futures” exclusive interview that the country will see a “period of transition” as his policies take effect.
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said of a recession. “There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing … it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”
FOX Business’ Matt Kazin and Reuters contributed to this report.
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