Tesla Shares Fall as Musk's 'America Party' Riles Investors

Alsharq Tribune- M.Essam 

Tesla shares fell over 3% on Monday, under pressure from investor concerns about the focus of boss Elon Musk after he announced he would form a new US political party, marking a new escalation in his feud with President Donald Trump.

Tesla stock fell over 3% in Frankfurt, pointing to another decline once premarket trading gets underway following the three-day weekend for Independence Day, Reuters said.

Veteran tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush said Musk was Tesla's "biggest asset" and his decision to dive deeper into politics would likely put the company's shares under pressure.

"Tesla needs Musk as CEO and its biggest asset and not heading down the political route yet again...while at the same time getting on Trump's bad side," Ives said in a note on Sunday.

"It would also not shock us if the Tesla board gets involved at some point given the political nature of this endeavor depending on how far Musk takes it."

Trump on Sunday called Musk's plans to form the "America Partyridiculous," launching new barbs at the tech billionaire and saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk's business interests in space.