TSLA drops 14% as investors see corruption being priced out of Tesla stock
Tesla stock dropped over 50 points today, primarily in response to a very public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and convicted felon Donald Trump.
But, as we pointed out in November, this doesn’t have anything to do with company performance, and rather only reflects a change in the market’s expectation of potential benefit to Tesla from government corruption.
Tesla stock has had a wild few months, with big rises and falls that has had little to do with company performance (which is, perhaps, nothing new for the stock, which has always been a speculative vehicle).
Much of the movement of TSLA has been centered around CEO Elon Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump.
Musk very publicly supported Mr. Trump’s run for president, giving hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Mr. Trump’s campaign, despite the latter’s openly anti-EV positions (and despite that there exists a clear legal remedy stopping insurrectionists from holding office in the US).
Musk even went on to spew climate denying nonsense alongside Mr. Trump during the campaign, and later said nothing when Mr. Trump opposed the Paris Agreement, even though he previously opposed a similar move in 2017.
This led to Musk being invited into an advisory role, which was dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency despite it not being a real government department, and having a supposed mission redundant with the already-existing Government Accountability Office.
And in the immediate aftermath of the election, TSLA stock rose swiftly, purely because of expectations of corruption. But after that swift rise, it gradually fell as the reality of economy-destroying tariffs, anti-EV legislation, and Tesla’s brand perception problem due to Musk’s actions all became apparent. Despite Musk’s position as a top republican party donor, the party still seems more interested in catering to its traditional base in the fossil fuel industry.
Despite some recovery from that big post election rise-and-drop, TSLA took another big hit today, and it’s all due to the current rift forming between these two egomaniacs.
A rift over spending becomes something greater
During his tenure in his advisory position, Musk claims to have saved the government hundreds of billions of dollars, but independent accounting has shown that it is in fact likely to increase the deficit, not decrease it.
Nevertheless, it seems like Musk was fooled into believing his own propaganda, and into thinking that deficit reduction was ever a goal of Mr. Trump, despite that he previously oversaw the highest nominal deficit of any person in the history of the United States.
At least, he believed that until now. In the last few days, after leaving his advisory position, Musk has loudly opposed the new republican budget bill, which he now correctly points out will add trillions of dollars to the US deficit (as any lucid person might have predicted from the party of waste).
The criticism came to a head today, with Musk going through one of his patented tweetstorms, acting more like a jilted lover than a CEO in charge of a company that has many people’s retirement invested into it.
There’s been a lot of back and forth, but over the course of the day, Musk has posted many statements about how dangerous the budget bill will be for the US debt and deficit.
Mr. Trump responded, stating that Musk should have known these things before now, but that Musk is only acting this way because he cut the “EV mandate.”
To be clear, the bill in question does not cut any EV mandate, as there was never an EV mandate to begin with, but it does cut EV tax credits which Tesla has gained more benefit from than any other company, though Tesla lobbied in support of these cuts. The bill does not cut support for oil and gas companies, which are orders of magnitude higher than the support EV companies get.
In response to this, Musk claimed that he personally swung the election in favor of the republicans, and that Mr. Trump is showing “ingratitude” by not recognizing this fact.
Mr. Trump responded by suggesting that the government could save money by terminating all of the subsidies and contracts for services with Musk’s various companies. To this, Musk said that he would immediately decommission the Dragon capsule, which has been the main spacecraft used by NASA to service the International Space Station.
Then, Musk went on to state that a recession will happen in the second half of this year due to Mr. Trump’s position on tariffs, and also to accuse Mr. Trump of being on Jeffrey Epstein’s list (which is not the first time Musk has publicly accused someone of pedophilia, though it is the first time he’s said that about someone who he claimed to “love as much as any straight man can,” and knowingly worked alongside), and to agree with a call for his impeachment.
The market sees this as a negative sign
The public rift seems to have shaken the stock market out of its stupor, as Tesla went down more than 50 points since the start of today.
While nothing significant has changed for Tesla’s business today – it’s still suffering from falling sales in an otherwise rising market, and it still has a bad CEO – what has changed is the possibility of the company benefitting from corruption.
As I stated during TSLA’s meteoric post-election rise, the stock price was merely a reflection of the market’s expectation that Mr. Trump, a person with an enormous history of corruption, would thank Musk for his election participation by rewarding him and his companies. Nobody quite knew how that might happen, but everyone expected that it would.
I claimed, at the time, that this was unlikely to turn out the way the market thought it would, because the republicans would likely continue to favor fossil fuels, and that regulatory blockages were not the thing holding Tesla back from its automation goals.
Musk did attempt to use the government in corrupt ways, as detailed this week in a report by Senator Warren, and as we all remember from the White House Auto Mall infomercial (remember, folks, “everything’s computer!“).
But none of that was ever going to justify the addition of hundreds of billions of dollars to Tesla’s market cap.
The market seems to be realizing that more today, as over $100 billion has been shaved off of Tesla’s market cap since the start of the feud. That’s quite a lot of priced-in expected benefit that has been wiped away, all by a single tweetstorm.
Fight shows how vulnerable Tesla is to Musk’s whims
While it’s all well and good to see the worst two people you know fighting each other, and to finally see the inevitable fallout between two narcissists who frankly held out much longer than any reasonable person thought they would, this fight does show the significant vulnerability that Tesla has to the whims of a CEO who has shown poor ability to control his impulses in the past.
The last year or more has been highlighted by several poor business decisions by Musk, not the least of which is his support of one of the larger anti-EV entities on the planet right now.
But beyond the politics, his leadership has still been erratic for the company. Not only has he paid more attention to the many other companies he runs, when he has turned his attention to Tesla, it hasn’t been positive for the company.
After mostly ignoring Tesla for a few years, he went through a flurry of activity in the run-up to last year’s shareholder advisory vote on his compensation package. This flurry involved firing everyone including important leadership and successful teams, canceling an all-important affordable car project (and lying about it) and holding Tesla’s AI projects hostage while shifting both resources and staff from Tesla to his private AI company, even as he claims that AI is the future of Tesla.
Now, TSLA investors have another thing to worry about – whether Musk will continue to try to “poke the bear” and get more government opposition to his company, even as he continues to make himself distasteful globally (by, for example, showing support for German neo-Nazis, agreeing with a defense of Hitler’s actions in the Holocaust, or his many other white supremacist statements). These actions have driven protests against the company, embarrassed owners and pushed many customers away – and those protesters aren’t planning on stopping.
While some may cheer this new rift that has formed between Musk and one of the environment’s greatest enemies, Donald Trump, it seems unlikely that Musk’s erratic behavior will be beneficial for Tesla the company in the long run.
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Newly published data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, reveal that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating capacity added in the first nine months of 2025. In September alone, solar provided 98% of new capacity, marking 25 consecutive months in which solar has led among all energy sources.
Year-to-date (YTD), solar and wind have each added more new capacity than natural gas has. The mix of all renewables remains on track to exceed 40% of installed capacity within three years; solar alone may be 20%.
Solar was 75% of new generating capacity YTD
In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through September 30, 2025), FERC says 48 “units” of solar totaling 2,014 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in September, accounting for 98% of all new generating capacity added during the month. Oil provided the balance (40 MW).
The 567 units of utility-scale (>1 MW) solar added during the first nine months of 2025 total 21,257 MW and were 75.3% of the total new capacity placed into service by all sources. Solar capacity added YTD is 6.5% more than that added during the same period a year earlier.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 25 consecutive months, from September 2023 to September 2025. During that period, total utility-scale solar capacity grew from 91.82 gigawatts (GW) to 158.43 GW. No other energy source added anything close to that amount of new capacity. Wind, for example, expanded by 11.07 GW while natural gas’s net increase was just 4.60 GW.
Between January and September, new wind energy has provided 3,724 MW of capacity additions – an increase of 28.6% compared to the same period last year and more than the new capacity provided by natural gas (3,161 MW). Wind accounted for 13.2% of all new capacity added during the first nine months of 2025.
Renewables were 88% of new capacity added YTD
Wind and solar (plus 4 MW of hydropower and 6 MW of biomass) accounted for 88.5% of all new generating capacity while natural gas added just 11.2% YTD. The balance of net capacity additions came from oil (63 MW) and waste heat (17 MW).
Utility-scale solar’s share of total installed capacity (11.78%) is now virtually tied with that of wind (11.80%). If recent growth rates continue, utility-scale solar capacity should surpass that of wind in FERC’s next “Energy Infrastructure Update” report.
Taken together, wind and solar make up 23.58% of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
Moreover, more than 25% of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar and wind to more than a quarter of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.59%), biomass (1.05%) and geothermal (0.31%), renewables currently claim a 32.53% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables now account for more than one-third of the total US generating capacity.
Solar soon to be No. 2 source of US generating capacity
FERC reports that net “high probability” net additions of solar between October 2025 and September 2028 total 90,614 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (23,093 MW), the second fastest growing resource.
FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (566 MW) and geothermal (92 MW) but a decrease of 126 MW in biomass capacity.
Meanwhile, natural gas capacity is projected to expand by 6,667 MW, while nuclear power is expected to add just 335 MW. In contrast, coal and oil are projected to contract by 24,011 MW and 1,587 MW, respectively.
Taken together, the net new “high probability” net utility-scale capacity additions by all renewable energy sources over the next three years – the Trump administration’s remaining time in office – would total 114,239 MW. On the other hand, the installed capacity of fossil fuels and nuclear power combined would shrink by 18,596 MW.
Should FERC’s three-year forecast materialize, by mid-fall 2028, utility-scale solar would account for 17.3% of installed U.S. generating capacity, more than any other source besides natural gas (39.9%). Further, the capacity of the mix of all utility-scale renewable energy sources would exceed 38%. The inclusion of small-scale solar, assuming it retains its 25% share of all solar energy, could push solar’s share to over 20% and that of all renewables to over 41%, while the share of natural gas would drop to less than 38%.
In fact, the numbers for renewables could be significantly higher.
FERC notes that “all additions” (net) for utility-scale solar over the next three years could be as high as 232,487 MW, while those for wind could total 65,658 MW. Hydro’s net additions could reach 9,927 MW while geothermal and biomass could increase by 202 MW and 32 MW, respectively. Such growth by renewable sources would swamp that of natural gas (29,859 MW).
“In an effort to deny reality, the Trump Administration has just announced a renaming of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in which it has removed the word ‘renewable’,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong. “However, FERC’s latest data show that no amount of rhetorical manipulation can change the fact that solar, wind, and other renewables continue on the path to eventual domination of the energy market.”
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The Century is considered the most luxurious Toyota, and now it’s being spun off into its own high-end brand. Despite the rumors, the ultra-luxury brand won’t be as electric as expected.
Toyota sets new luxury brand up to fail with ICE plans
First introduced in 1967, the Century was launched in celebration of Toyota’s founder, Sakichi Toyoda’s 100th birthday.
The Century has since become a symbol of status and wealth in Japan, often used as a chauffeur car by high-profile company officials.
Toyota previewed the future of the ultra-luxury marquee at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show in October, launching it as a new standalone brand positioned above Lexus.
The new Century brand is set to rival higher-end automakers like Rolls-Royce and Bentley, but it won’t be as electric as initially expected. Toyota’s powertrain boss, Takashi Uehara, told CarExpert that the luxury brand’s first vehicle will, in fact, have an internal combustion engine.
Although no other details were offered, Uehara confirmed, “Yes, it will have an engine.” As to what kind, that has yet to be decided, Toyota’s powertrain president explained.
Like the next-gen Lexus supercar and upcoming Toyota GR GT, Uehara said the Century model could include a V8 engine.
The Century has been Toyota’s only vehicle with a V12 engine. In 2018, Toyota dropped the V12 in favor of a V8 hybrid powertrain for its third-generation.
Toyota’s Century launched its first SUV in 2023, currently on sale in Japan with a V6 plug-in hybrid system alongside the sedan.
Already widely considered the biggest laggard in the shift to fully electric vehicles, Toyota doubled down, developing a series of new internal combustion engines for upcoming models.
Century is one of the five global brands the Japanese auto giant introduced in October, along with Daihatsu, GR Sport, Lexus, and Toyota.
Electrek’s Take
It’s not surprising to see Toyota sticking with ICE for its ultra-luxury Century brand, but it will likely be a costly move.
Chinese auto giants, such as BYD and FAW Group, are quickly expanding into new segments, including high-end models under luxury brands such as Yangwang and Hongqi.
These companies are now expanding into new overseas markets, like Europe and Southeast Asia, where Japanese brands like Toyota have traditionally dominated, to drive growth.
Top luxury brands, including Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, are already struggling to keep pace with Chinese EV brands. How does Toyota plan to compete with an “ultra-luxury” brand that still sells outdated ICE vehicles? We will find out more over the coming months and years as new sales data is released.
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SparkCharge has partnered with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Zipcar to launch the Northeast’s first off‑grid, mobile DC fast‑charging hub for shared EVs. The goal is to bring fast, reliable EV charging infrastructure into communities without having to wait for costly or slow grid upgrades.
The hub sits at Zipcar’s maintenance facility in East Boston, an Environmental Justice community. It’s funded through MassCEC’s InnovateMass program and gives onsite mechanics the ability to quickly recharge a rotating fleet of Zipcar EVs before they’re dispatched across Greater Boston. Members and rideshare drivers who rent Zipcars will get steadier access to charged EVs.
“Electrification should never be limited by where the grid is or how long it takes,” SparkCharge founder and CEO Joshua Aviv said. “With this program in East Boston, we’re showing how fleets can deploy at scale, in any community, and deliver clean mobility today.”
At the center of the setup is SparkCharge’s Mobile Battery‑Powered Trailer, which delivers 320 kW of DC fast charging without the delays and big price tags that usually come with fixed infrastructure. The trailer can recharge from Zipcar’s existing onsite power between sessions, topping up its high‑capacity batteries without stressing the local grid. Since it avoids major grid upgrades entirely, the model is designed to deploy quickly and at zero upfront cost for fleets.
MassCEC says the project shows what community‑first fast charging can look like. “Every resident deserves access to clean, reliable transportation,” said Leslie Nash, MassCEC’s senior director of Technology‑to‑Market. “By partnering with SparkCharge and Zipcar in East Boston, we’re showing how Massachusetts is leading the way in clean transportation innovation.”
The hub also plays into Massachusetts’ push to hit its net‑zero 2050 targets. As shared mobility grows, electrifying fleets will be key to cutting emissions in dense urban corridors. This project introduces a scalable charging option to a part of Boston that is underserved by public charging, helping to keep Zipcar’s EVs reliably on the road.
“For twenty‑five years, Zipcar has been a leader in shared mobility, and we’re proud to take another step toward a more sustainable future,” said Angelo Adams, Zipcar’s president. “Working with SparkCharge and MassCEC allows us to bring fast, reliable EV charging directly to our members and rideshare drivers.”
Zipcar, which is owned by car rental company Avis Budget, announced on December 1 that it was shutting down its UK operations by December 31, 2025. An Avis Budget spokesperson stated that the reason was “to streamline operations, improve returns, and position the company for long-term sustainability and growth,” adding that “all other markets remain unaffected.”
Read more: With a $30M raise, SparkCharge takes EV fleet charging off-grid
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