NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday morning to support Elon Musk\u2019s car company, a startling development given their bitter public feud.<\/p>\n
\u201dI want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social. <\/p>\n
The post wasn\u2019t enough to help Tesla\u2019s stock, which fell sharply after the company reported another quarter of lackluster financial results<\/a> and Musk warned of some potentially \u201crough quarters\u201d into next year. The stock fell 8.2% and is now down more than 24% so far this year. <\/p>\n Late Wednesday, Tesla said revenue fell 12% and profit dropped 16% in the April-June quarter. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk\u2019s foray into right-wing politics<\/a>, and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe<\/a> and China.<\/p>\n Investors have been unnerved by Musk\u2019s social media spat with the president because Trump has threatened to retaliate by ending government contracts and breaks for Musk\u2019s various businesses, including Tesla. <\/p>\n But Trump struck a starkly different tone Thursday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is stating that I will destroy Elon\u2019s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThe better they do, the better the USA does, and that\u2019s good for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n After Trump\u2019s massive budget bill passed earlier this month, Tesla faces the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers. Trump\u2019s tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call.<\/p>\n Musk has blasted the budget bill on his own social media platform X for adding to U.S. debt at a time when it is already too large. The Tesla CEO has called the budget pushed by the president a \u201cdisgusting abomination\u201d and has threatened to form a new political party.<\/p>\n On Wednesday\u2019s call, Musk said the electric vehicle maker will face \u201ca few rough quarters\u201d as it moves into a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in self-driving cars. He also talked up the company\u2019s business making humanoid robotics. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n