Why Elon Musk Needs To Apologize To Trump

Why Elon Musk Needs to Apologize to President Trump

And Why That May Be Only the First Step

Elon Musk’s latest salvo—suggesting without evidence that President Trump was somehow complicit in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes—did more than light up the X‑feed. It wiped nearly 15 % off Tesla, Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) market cap in a single week and put billions in federal contracts at risk. Before we dissect how Musk’s persona helps and hurts the company, let’s be clear: a prompt, public apology is the bare minimum required to stop the bleeding.

1️⃣ Musk’s Self‑Inflicted Wound

Facet of Musk Persona	Upside for Musk	Drawback for Tesla & Shareholders
Industrial genius – Gigafactories, SpaceX, Starlink, FSD AI	Engineering credibility → attracts talent & capital	Brand bifurcation – From bipartisan “green tech” icon to polarizing figure, shrinking the potential customer pool
Cult of personality – 200 M+ followers, agenda‑setting tweets	Real‑time market feedback, free PR	Headline volatility – Shares whipsaw on every tweet; investor base fatigued
Space dreamer – Mars colony narrative still inspires	Long‑term vision galvanizes employees & retail holders	Regulatory risk – Threatening to mothball Dragon angered NASA & DoD, jeopardizing billions in contracts
Political brawler – Sparring with the sitting President	Energizes a subset of fans	Government‑contract risk – Tesla, SpaceX, & Starlink all need a cooperative White House

2️⃣ Why an Apology Matters – Even If It’s Not Sufficient

Government contracts & subsidies. Tesla’s IRA tax credits and SpaceX launch awards run through federal agencies now overseen by President Trump’s appointees. An olive branch is a prerequisite for smooth approvals.
Investor confidence. A sincere public apology would shift the narrative from “Musk vs. Trump” back to Tesla’s fundamentals.
Necessary but not sufficient. Re‑winning left‑leaning consumers may require additional moves (e.g., resumed political neutrality, targeted ESG messaging). Still, bridging the White House gap is Step #1.

3️⃣ A Pattern of Erratic Accusations

Back in 2018, when a group of Thai schoolboys were trapped in the Tham Luang cave complex, Musk proposed sending a mini‑sub he had commissioned from SpaceX engineers. British rescue diver Vern Unsworth—who had just helped map the escape route—dismissed the idea as a publicity stunt. Musk’s response: he called Unsworth a “pedo guy” on Twitter. The allegation was groundless; Musk eventually deleted the tweet and prevailed in a defamation suit only after a bruising legal battle.

Labelling a private citizen a child predator was reckless—but publicly insinuating that the President of the United States was complicit in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes is orders of magnitude more damaging, both to Musk’s credibility and to Tesla’s political standing.

4️⃣ What’s Really Driving Musk’s Outburst?

Daily Wire reporter Amber Duke notes that Musk’s tirade wasn’t solely about the One Big Beautiful Bill; insiders say he was smarting from being essentially shown the door in Washington, D.C. after overstepping his advisory role. (source)

Musk may be genuinely alarmed by runaway deficits, but if he wants to shape fiscal policy the playbook is obvious:

Patch things up with Trump. He will have more influence on fiscal policy by getting back in Trump’s good graces than by starting a quixotic third party.
Consider our compromise approach. In our previous post we laid out a legislative roadmap that could potentially satisfy both Musk and Trump.

Refusing to mend fences leaves him on the outside, shouting through a closed window while Congress writes trillion‑dollar checks.

5️⃣ Should Musk Stay CEO?

Musk may be the Edison‑level industrialist of our era, but if his public persona becomes a larger drag than his engineering brilliance is a lift, the board must weigh alternatives:

Executive Chair / CTO role, letting a crisis‑tested operator run day‑to‑day.
Focus on Mars, leaving Tesla to professional managers while retaining vision oversight.

Either path might reassure regulators and investors rattled by the latest feud.

6️⃣ Trade Recap: Our Recent Tesla Trades

On Thursday (6 June) we bought the TSLA $300 calls expiring the very next day at $2.37 after Elon Musk’s flurry of anti‑Trump posts tanked the stock. When President Donald J. Trump reiterated his displeasure with Musk early Friday, we chose to hit the eject button, selling those calls at $5 even – a 111 % overnight gain.

We still have a bullish call spread on Tesla expiring on June 20th, so hopefully Elon patches things up with Trump by then. Fortunately, we were able to exit part of it for a nice gain last week, but we’re still holding most of our contracts.

Call spread on Tesla (TSLA -2.51%↓). Entered at a net debit of $1.15 on 3/13/2025; exited (part) at $4.75 on 5/28/2025. Profit: 313%.

If you want to join us on our next trade, you can subscribe to the Portfolio Armor trading Substack/occasional email list below.

7️⃣ Hedging The Headline Risk

Tesla bulls who plan to hold shares through the remainder of 2025 should consider adding downside protection.

The Portfolio Armor iPhone app computes the optimal hedge for any TSLA position—tailored to your risk tolerance and time‑frame—in seconds. Scan the QR code below if you want to download it (or tap here, if you are reading this on your phone). If you don’t have an iPhone, the same capabilities (and more) are available on the Portfolio Armor website.

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