The public feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump has shown investors just how much control the US government has over Musk’s companies, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood says.
Many of Musk’s companies have key links to the government and have received billions of dollars in federal loans, contracts, tax credits, and subsidies over the years.
“Elon is involved in companies that are depending on the government,” Wood said, pointing to Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink as examples.
Tesla stock fell more than 14% on Thursday after Musk and Trump became locked in a series of increasingly bitter clashes.
Wood said the rift with Trump could, in part, be Musk’s attempt to further decouple himself from the Trump administration.
According to Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, investors have seen how much power the US government has over Musk’s businesses as a result of the public dispute between Musk and President Donald Trump.
“I think the way this is evolving is Elon, Tesla, and investors are beginning to understand more and more just how much the government has control here,” Wood stated in a video that was uploaded to the business’s YouTube channel earlier Friday.
Numerous businesses owned by Musk have significant ties to the government and have benefited from billions of dollars in federal contracts, loans, tax credits, and subsidies over the years.
Using Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink as examples, Wood claimed that “Elon is involved in companies that are depending on the government.”.
Last year, Gwynne Shotwell, the COO of SpaceX, stated that the company has $22 billion in federal contracts. The FDA regulates Neuralink, Musk’s brain chip business, and a less hospitable regulatory environment may affect Tesla’s plans to roll out robotaxis. Following Musk and Trump’s increasingly acrimonious arguments, Tesla’s stock dropped more than 14% on Thursday.
After Musk attacked Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Tuesday, the feud seemed to start, at least in public. He referred to it as a “disgusting abomination” and claimed that it would result in a larger national budget deficit.
On Thursday, the once-close allies’ tensions quickly increased. In response to Trump’s threat to sever Musk’s government contracts, Musk declared that SpaceX would start decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft right away. In March, the Dragon spacecraft brought back stranded NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the ISS.
Wood claimed that Musk’s later withdrawal of that threat was an indication that he was “starting to walk this back.”. “,”.
Wood suggested that Musk may be trying to further distance himself from the Trump administration by causing the rift with him. In April, Musk declared his intention to retire from his government position.
Wood stated that “one of the theories out there is that what has happened was partly — not entirely — orchestrated.”. Tesla readily acknowledges that there has been some harm to the company’s reputation, and I believe he is attempting to distance himself from the government and political affiliations. “..”.
Neither Musk nor Trump needed to be “bogged down” with a fight going forward, according to Wood, who also expressed her belief that both would eventually follow that logic.
She seemed to believe Musk could turn the situation to his advantage as well. Musk, according to her, “works really well under pressure” and “creates a lot of that chaos and pressure himself.”. “.
But on Saturday, Trump gave a hint that he was not interested in mending his relationship with the CEO of SpaceX anytime soon.
According to Trump, “I have no intention of speaking to him,” NBC News reported.
“He is really disrespectful, so I think it’s a very bad thing. “You could not treat the President’s office disrespectfully,” he continued.
When questioned about the prospect of reconciliation in an interview with podcaster Theo Von on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance adopted a slightly more amicable tone.
Vance expressed his belief that Musk’s decision to “go after the president” was a “huge mistake,” but he hoped Musk “figures it out” and “comes back into the fold.”. “.”.
