Tesla CEO Elon Musk slammed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over his recent remarks celebrating the company’s stock decline. Walz, the former vice presidential candidate, mocked Tesla’s stock dip during a Wisconsin event while discussing Musk’s role in the firing of federal employees and the freezing of government funds as part of efforts to uncover billions in waste and potential fraud. “There’s this thing on my phone, I know some of you know this, on the iPhone. They’ve got that little stock app,” Walz said last week. “I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day.”
Tesla’s stock has plunged more than 50% in recent months, coinciding with Elon Musk becoming the public face of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Dealerships across the country have been targeted by acts of vandalism—ranging from gunfire and Molotov cocktails to graffiti—largely driven by backlash from liberal activists against Musk. In an interview this week with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Musk said the firebombings and ongoing attacks have had a chilling effect on sales, as both domestic and international customers feel intimidated.
“I mean, you have Tim Walz, who’s a huge jerk, running on stage when the Tesla stock price has gone in half, and he was overjoyed,” he said. “What an evil thing to do. What a creep, what a jerk.” He added, “Like, who derives joy from that?”
Musk pointed out that Minnesota’s state pension fund is a significant investor in Tesla. In fact, a report released last year by the Minnesota State Board of Investment revealed that the state’s fund holds 1.6 million shares of Tesla stock. “But he didn’t care,” Musk said. “He was so overjoyed by Tesla stock going down. Does that sound like a good person to you? I don’t think so.”
President Trump has stood firmly behind his top efficiency watchdog amid the wave of attacks on Tesla dealerships, labeling the vandalism as acts of domestic terrorism. That’s the same designation the Justice Department used this week when it formally charged three individuals accused of targeting Tesla locations.
