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Elon Musk Takes The Biggest Hit From Trump’s Tariffs

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 4, 2025

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and self-proclaimed “first friend” of President Donald Trump, was hit the hardest on Monday as the stock market reacted to Trump’s tariff announcements. Shares of Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, took a significant hit, with import duties expected to erode the company’s profits.

Key Takeaways

Tesla’s stock plummeted by 5%, marking the largest percentage drop among 46 U.S. companies valued at $200 billion or more.
This decline wiped out $11.8 billion from Musk’s net worth, the largest loss of the day for any billionaire.
Musk, Tesla’s largest shareholder with a 13% stake, saw the stock’s value drop to its lowest point since January 2, dipping by as much as 7.5% during morning trading.
The broader market was also volatile, with the S&P 500 losing 1.9% before slightly recovering to end the day down by 0.8%. The brief suspension of tariffs on Mexico provided some relief to the markets, tempering the anticipated negative effects.

Why Tariffs Hurt Tesla

Tesla, like many other automakers, finds itself in the crosshairs of Trump’s tariffs, especially due to its reliance on a complex North American supply chain and significant operations in China. Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, warned last week that any tariffs imposed would directly affect the company’s earnings, as it continues to depend on global supply chains for parts and manufacturing.

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Other companies facing similar tariff woes include Nvidia and Apple, both of which generate a substantial portion of their revenue from China.

Key Figures

$20.9 billion: Tesla’s revenue from China in 2024, which represents more than 21% of the company’s global sales.

Musk’s Reaction

Musk, who has been outspoken about his opposition to tariffs in the past, remained unusually quiet on social media regarding the new tariff-related challenges. His only comment so far was a succinct “Well, okay” in response to an Ontario official’s announcement to cancel a $68 million contract with SpaceX due to the tariffs.

Despite the threat of tariffs and the possibility of losing federal tax credits for electric car buyers, Tesla’s stock has seen remarkable growth since Trump’s election, rising 53% since November.

Forbes Ranking

Musk’s fortune now stands at $410 billion, which is over $150 billion more than it was on Election Day, making him $160 billion wealthier than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person in the world.

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Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.