The Impact of Trump’s Presidency on Tesla and Tech Stocks

Hongting LIU

In this article, Hongting LIU (ESSEC Business School, Master in Strategy & Management of International Business (SMIB), 2021-2022) shares her insight regarding the influence of Trump’s wining in the election of the US president in November, 2024 in the technology industries.

Tesla’s Stock Performance is outstanding during 2024 especially after the result of the election was released

Tesla’s stock exhibited significant volatility and momentum during Trump’s presidency:

Evolution of Tesla’s stock price.
Evolution of Tesla’s stock price
Source: Yahoo! Finance.

  • Election-Driven Surge: Following Trump’s re-election in 2024, Tesla’s stock surged nearly 13% in a single day due to investor optimism about pro-business policies.
  • Peaks and Corrections: By December 2024, Tesla’s stock reached a historic high of $479.8 per share but later adjusted to $379.28 in January 2025.
  • Trading Range Formation: The stock fluctuated between $380 and $480, reflecting divided sentiment on its future potential.

Reasons Behind Tesla’s Stock Surge

Trump may use pro-Business Policies like he did from 2017 to 2021

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency allows for an assessment of potential policies based on his previous term from January 2017 to January 2021. During his first administration, policies such as tax reforms, deregulation, and a pro-business stance were introduced. These measures aimed to foster investor confidence and support domestic industries. Corporate tax cuts and relaxed regulatory requirements provided particular advantages to high-growth sectors, including technology and green energy, benefiting companies like Tesla. The administration also emphasized economic nationalism and prioritized local industries. Policies aimed at reducing taxes and loosening employment regulations were designed to enhance the competitiveness of American businesses, particularly those reliant on research and development (R&D) and capital investment. Additionally, diplomatic and trade relationships with Middle Eastern countries were strengthened, resulting in energy agreements that supported collaboration on clean energy initiatives. These agreements promoted the adoption of renewable energy technologies and created opportunities for companies like Tesla to contribute to the modernization of energy infrastructure in the region.

The winning of Trump triggers the positive emotion to Elon’s businesses

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, is considered to be an informal advisory role in Trump’s administration further bolstered Tesla’s growth trajectory. The victory of Trump gives the market the confidence in Elon’s companies. The global push for electric vehicles (EVs) gained momentum during this period, driven by government incentives and growing environmental awareness. As a leader in the EV industry, Tesla became a focal point for investors aligning with long-term global trends.

Future Trends in U.S. Tech Stocks

AI Integration

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to drive significant gains for tech companies. Tesla, leveraging AI in autonomous driving systems, stands to benefit from these developments.

Sustainability Focus

Global trends toward sustainability, including renewable energy and EV adoption, will continue to bolster companies like Tesla aligned with these priorities.

Regulatory Dynamics

Post-Trump regulatory scrutiny may increase, but the tech sector’s central role in innovation ensures resilience in the face of challenges.

Caution: Avoid Blindly Following Market Trends

While Tesla’s stock has delivered exceptional returns, its high volatility underscores the need for caution. Blindly chasing high-performing stocks can lead to financial losses, especially in speculative environments. In fact, from the middle of December 2024 to the January 2025, there is a volatility of the stock performance. The long term performance of Tesla should be estimated based on its annual report regarding its revenues, new AI technology, profits margins, energy & storage business growth, and also the demand and the competition of the global electric automobile market. We should not judge everything based on the emotion of market even though the emotion of the market should never be ignored.

Conclusion

Donald Trump’s presidency marked a transformative period for the U.S. economy, particularly for the technology sector. Tesla’s growth trajectory reflects the broader trends in innovation and sustainability. Moving forward, technological advancements and global shifts toward sustainability will continue to shape the market. Strategic planning and prudent investment remain essential in navigating these complexities.

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Useful resources

Barron’s (January 23, 2025) “EV Charging Stocks Are Sliding. How Tesla Stands to Gain,” Barron’s, January 23, 2025

Barron’s (January 23, 2025) Tesla Stock Will Get Help From Trump, Believe Investors. But How?

The Guardian (January 27, 2025) Charles Koch’s network launches $20m campaign backing Trump tax breaks

CNN Business (April 15, 2019) Trump’s tax cuts: 4 ways they changed the American economy

Forbes (March 14, 2018) Why Trump’s Tax Reform Will Spark Continued Small Business Growth

About the author

The article was written in January 2025 by Hongting LIU (ESSEC Business School, Master in Strategy & Management of International Business (SMIB), 2021-2022).

The effect of Elon Musk's Tweets on the Cryptocurrency Market

The effect of Elon Musk’s Tweets on the Cryptocurrency Market

Ines ILLES MEJIAS

In this article, Ines ILLES MEJIAS (ESSEC Business School, Global BBA, 2020-2024) analyzes the effect of Elon Musk’s tweets on the cryptocurrency market and its link with the concept of market efficiency.

Who is Elon Musk?

Founder of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, is known to be one of the richest and most famous people in the world. He is known to be a “technological visionary”, especially working in companies which focus on innovation and technology. Elon Musk has currently over 120 million followers on Twitter, a social media platform which he is regularly active on to speak about his life, his business or give his opinion on a wide variety of topics, one of them being cryptocurrency. No surprises he likes Twitter so much that he chose to purchase this one for US$ 44 billion not so long time ago in 2022.

Why does Elon Musk have an impact on the crypto market?

The effect of Elon Musk on the crypto market seems to be explained by his tweets due to his persona, as he is also known to be a successful investor and one of the wealthiest people in the world in 2022.

His activity on Twitter seems to affect the prices and volumes of cryptocurrencies on the short-term, by looking at the price changes or volatility following his tweets. This is called the “Elon Musk Effect”. The two most known cryptocurrencies having been influenced by Elon Musk are the Bitcoin and the Dogecoin. Likewise, we know thanks to his tweets and affirmation in conferences that he currently owns three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

Examples of the positive impact of Elon Musk’s tweets on the crypto market

Elon Musk’s tweets seem to have an influence in the variation of cryptocurrency prices.

December 2021: “Bitcoin is my safe word”

In December 2021, Elon Musk positively tweeted about the Bitcoin saying that it is his “safe word”. This made the value of Bitcoin increase largely as the graph below shows.

Figure 1. Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Bitcoin
 Tweet of Elon Musk 2021
Source: Source: Reuters

January 2022: Elon Musk shows he’s a Bitcoin supporter.

In January 2022, Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio by adding “#bitcoin” which caused the Bitcoin to increase its value by 20%.

Figure 2. Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Bitcoin
 Tweet of Elon Musk 2021
Source: Source: Blockchain Research Lab

Figure 3. Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Bitcoin
Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Bitcoin
Source: Source: Blockchain Research Lab

Moreover, the price of Dogecoin raised by more than 500% after he tweeted that it was his favorite cryptocurrency. For this he is also known to be the “Dogefather” or “King of Dogecoin”. He also tweeted that SpaceX will accept Dogecoin payments which again, made the value of one of his cryptocurrencies raise largely.

Figure 4. Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Dogecoin
Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Dogecoin
Source: Source: Blockchain Research Lab

Figure 5. Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Dogecoin
Elon Musk’s tweet effect on Dogecoin
Source: Source: Blockchain Research Lab

Examples of the negative impact of Elon Musk’s tweets on the crypto market

Elon Musk can have a positive but also a negative impact on the crypto market by creating its own up and downs. For instance, after his presence on Saturday Night Live in May 2021, the Dogecoin’s value fell 34%. This was shocking considering that it was predicted by many crypto enthusiasts that it would increase the Dogecoin’s value to US$ 1.

Also, after Musk called Dodgecoin to be a “hustle”, its price went down by more than 30%.

A last example I will add is of when Elon Musk tweeted a meme about breaking up with bitcoin on June 3. This caused the price of Bitcoin to decrease by 5%.

Figure 6. Tweet of Elon Musk on June 4, 2021
 Tweet of Elon Musk on June 4, 2021
Source: Twitter.

Impact of Elon Musk’s tweets on the cryptocurrency market

Figure 7. Impact of Elon Musk’s tweets on the cryptocurrency market
Impact of Elon Musk’s tweets on the cryptocurrency market
Source: Coinjournal.

Why did it interest me?

This topic really caught my attention as I’ve always been very interested in investing, although never had the courage to do so due to the potential loss of real money. So, when I heard about this virtual currency, I became interested in knowing more about it, and after some research I found out about the news regarding Elon Musk and his effect on these. It was surprising and shocking seeing how an individual can have so much power over something, especially the power of social media.

Link with market efficiency

There are three types of market efficiency: weak efficiency related to market data (prices and transaction volumes), semi-strong efficiency related to all public information (company accounts, analyst reports, etc.) and strong efficiency (all public as well as private information).

Given the market reaction after Elon Musk’s tweets, the market is definitely efficient in the semi-strong sense. By observing the market reaction before Elon Musk’s tweets, we may wonder if the market is also efficient in the strong sense…

Useful resources

Academic articles

Gupta, R.R., Arya, R.K., Kumar, J., Gururani, A., Dugh, R., Dugh, A. (2022). The Impact of Elon Musk Tweets on Bitcoin Price. In: Mandal, J.K., Hsiung, PA., Sankar Dhar, R. (eds) Topical Drifts in Intelligent Computing. ICCTA 2021. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 426. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0745-6_44

Business resources

Twitter Elon Musk

Bitcoin

DodgeCoin

Blockchain Research Lab

Joe Khalique-Brown (15/06/2021) The Elon Musk Bitcoin saga continues: BTC rallies 10% Coin Journal

Noel Randewich (08/02/2021) Musk’s Bitcoin investment follows months of Twitter talk Reuters.

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About the author

The article was written in December 2022 by Ines ILLES MEJIAS (ESSEC Business School, Global BBA, 2020-2024).