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Trump pushes back on Elon Musk’s America Party, calls third-party move ‘ridiculous’

The clash marks a notable shift in the relationship between the two former allies.

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MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

United States President Donald Trump sharply criticized Elon Musk’s decision to launch a new political party, calling the move “ridiculous” and dismissing it as a distraction from the two-party system. The rebuke came shortly after Musk announced the formation of the “America Party,” aimed at disrupting what he calls the entrenched Republican-Democrat “Uniparty.”

Tensions escalate between Trump and Musk

The clash marks a notable shift in the relationship between the two former allies. Musk previously headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump’s administration, a position aimed at cutting federal spending. The alliance, however, appears to have fractured over policy differences, particularly Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Musk notes will increase the country’s debt by $5 trillion.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday before boarding Air Force One, Trump said, “It’s always been a two-party system and I think starting a third party just adds to the confusion.” Hours later, he posted on Truth Social that Musk had gone “off the rails,” accusing him of promoting an “Electric Vehicle Mandate” that would have required all Americans to switch to EVs in a short timeframe. 

Trump emphasized that his latest tax bill deliberately excluded incentives for electric vehicles, saying Americans should be free to choose gasoline-powered, hybrid, or other new technologies without federal mandates, according to a report from the BBC.

Musk outlines goals for America Party

Musk has been open about his support for ending the EV tax credit, as long as the incentives for other industries like oil and gas are removed as well.. The CEO has adopted this stance for several years. He has also not supported the idea of a mandate that forces consumers to purchase electric cars.

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Musk also stated that the newly formed America Party will focus on congressional races in 2025 and 2026, rather than fielding a presidential candidate in the near term. In his post on X, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO criticized both major parties for contributing to the national debt. He also noted that the Department of Government Efficiency’s work will be rendered useless if the US’ debt increases due to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla gets another new price target as recent events ‘remove large overhang’

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) got another new price target this week after one firm said that recent events “have removed a large overhang on the stock.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) got another new price target this week after one firm said that recent events “have removed a large overhang on the stock.”

This year, Tesla has had an up-and-down performance on Wall Street, but gains over the past month have overshadowed much of the skepticism and pressure on the stock.

However, over the past 30 days, a lot of good things have happened: Tesla has shown it has a lot of demand for its vehicles, which will likely translate to good delivery figures, it figured out a compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, and the company’s clear focus on Robotaxi and Optimus puts it in a good position for the future as the focus comes off of quarterly deliveries.

Tesla board reveals reasoning for CEO Elon Musk’s new $1 trillion pay package

Deutsche Bank recognized these potential catalysts and wrote in a note to investors:

“Ahead of 3Q25 deliveries next week, we raise our near-term estimates given stronger volume in the quarter, but keep our full-year and 2026 outlook mostly unchanged. We think Elon Musk’s clear focus on Tesla’s most important efforts (Robotaxi and Optimus) and the recent compensation package have removed a large overhang on the stock going forward, will allow Tesla to benefit from being a leader in embodied AI.”

These points specifically pushed Deutsche Bank’s reasoning for pushing its price target to $435 from $345.

In terms of quarterly deliveries, the firm expects Tesla to report 461,500 for the quarter. “We expect +20% growth in China and N. America, with some decline in Europe as competition and branding continue to weigh in on demand,” Deutsche Bank said.

Wall Street firm makes shock move for Tesla Q3 delivery prediction

Overall, IR-compiled consensus estimates put deliveries at 443,100:

Tesla received other price target boosts this week, including one from Wedbush’s Dan Ives, who bumped his outlook on the stock from $500 to a Street-high $600.

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Elon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress

Tesla is “working hard” to get Optimus production scaled, Elon Musk said.

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk says Tesla is working hard to scale what will end up being its biggest product in his eyes: Optimus.

Tesla Optimus is the company’s humanoid robot project, which was first announced several years ago but has gained more relevance and become a larger focus over the past year.

Tesla truly had its big breakout with Optimus last year at its “We, Robot” event in October, where it was used to serve drinks, provide entertainment, and mingle with attendees.

Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed

However, it has been a challenge for Tesla to truly scale Optimus and, although it has huge plans for production numbers, certain parts of the project have proven to be more difficult than others.

One of the most notable things is that of its hands, as Tesla wants them to be nimble enough to thread a needle.

This has proven to be very difficult.

Scaling production and refining manufacturing are also likely challenges. Musk says Tesla is “working hard on scaling Optimus,” something that is a crucial issue to solve as the project is a major contributor to the company’s future.

Musk said:

Musk has made some pretty tremendous predictions for Optimus and how important it could be to Tesla in the future.

Earlier this month, he said Optimus will make up about 80 percent of the company’s value in the future. In January, he also noted during Tesla’s Q4 2024 Earnings Call that Optimus would be “overwhelmingly the value of the company.”

Elon Musk details Tesla’s road to selling Optimus and Robotaxi affordably

He has not only talked about Optimus’s importance in terms of money and revenue. He also said it would be “the biggest product of all-time by far,” because of its ability to revolutionize human life. He said it would be like “having your own personal C-3PO and R2-D2.”

Summary Table of Estimations

Aspect
Musk’s Estimation
Date/Context
Implication for Tesla
Valuation Share
~80% of total company value
Sep 2025 X post; Jan 2025 earnings
Shifts focus from EVs to robotics as primary growth engine
Overall Valuation
Up to $25 trillion (Optimus-driven)
Mid-2024 interview
~34x current cap; exceeds U.S. GDP equivalent in profits
Market Size
>10 billion units globally
Aug 2024 interview
Universal adoption for labor/personal use
Product Ranking
Biggest product ever; > FSD value
Mar 2025 statement; Apr 2022
Transforms Tesla into AI/robotics leader
Unit Price
~$20,000 (high-volume target)
Nov 2024 X post
Enables affordability for billions of users
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Tesla pleads with Trump White House not to bail on crucial climate standards

It suggested that abandoning the standards “would give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle.”

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President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
Credit: Tesla

Tesla pleaded with the Trump White House not to bail on crucial climate standards that would help keep vehicle emissions in check, warning of human dangers related to greenhouse gases.

Tesla wrote that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent proposal to roll back standards for tailpipe emissions would be a major setback in the fight to limit damage to the climate.

It suggested that abandoning the standards “would give a pass to engine and vehicle manufacturers for all measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle,” Reuters said in its report.

Trump has been a critic of environmental standards, and earlier this week, during a speech with the U.N., said that climate change was “the greatest con-job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion.”

Tesla’s tone on the potential rollback of climate standards was countered by that of General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and “nearly all other major automakers,” who requested the EPA delay the emissions goals.

Tesla stands to gain a lot from the emissions push. Other automakers simply cannot compete with Tesla’s tech, charging infrastructure, or self-driving program, and they have a significant advantage as they started developing EV tech more than a decade ago.

Legacy automakers, on the other hand, have continued to develop EVs, but have not managed to manufacture anything of extreme interest to most car buyers.

Individually, they have not dented Tesla’s market share in the U.S., but collectively, because of more offerings and improvements to their lineups, they have managed to take some of Tesla’s sales away.

It’s taken all of them to truly compete with Tesla in the big picture. However, the other companies still need to rely on combustion engine vehicles, at least in the short term, to generate revenue.

Since these companies are not meeting emissions targets, they are required to pay Tesla for compliance credits, which the company generated $2.8 billion in revenue from last year.

GM to pay $145.8 million fee for excess emissions

Tesla said in its letter that the EPA’s consideration of rolling back standards is destructive to the innovation of the automotive industry:

“[It] undermines the stability of this program, diminishes the value of performance-based incentives that electric vehicle manufacturers accrue under the standards, and creates an uneven playing field – reducing the inducement for investment in vehicle innovation.”

With President Trump’s skepticism on the issue of vehicle emissions, things don’t look like they will go in Tesla’s favor with this particular request.

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