TNB Tech Minute: Tesla Shares Plunge After Trump Threatens to Cut Subsidies
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At GMC, ignorance is the furthest thing from bliss. Bliss is research, testing, testing the testing, until it results in not just one truck, but a whole lineup.

Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, June 5th. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal.

Shares of Elon Musk's Tesla plunged more than 14 percent today. The sell-off wiped $152.3 billion from its market value, the biggest drop on record. The move came as the company's billionaire CEO traded sharp barbs with President Trump, which resulted in the president threatening to eliminate government subsidies and contracts for Musk's businesses.

On Truth Social, President Trump posted, quote, the easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts.

On X, Musk responded that in light of the president's remarks, SpaceX will begin immediately decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft, which has been used to transport NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. What began with Musk's criticism of the GOP budget bill now threatens to rupture one of the most consequential political relationships in recent history.

Meanwhile, NASA is also caught in the middle of President Trump and Elon Musk's fraying relationship and between competing ideas about its future. Senate Republicans are working to shield the U.S. space agency from some of the White House's large proposed cuts.

People familiar with the matter told the journal there's been discussion about directing around $10 billion in funding toward programs that are slated for reductions, including the flagship Artemis program that looks to return humans to the moon as soon as 2027. It's not clear yet who will lead the agency since President Trump abruptly withdrew support from his previous nominee, Jared Isaacman, who was backed by Musk.

And finally, shares of crypto company Circle soared in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange today. The shares priced at $31 and closed at more than $83. Investor enthusiasm for the company, which issues the world's second biggest stablecoin called USD Coin, comes as the Trump administration continues to embrace the crypto industry. Vice President J.D. Vance told a Bitcoin conference recently that the administration would press ahead with crypto-friendly policies.

And the Senate is prepping legislation to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Friday's Tech News Briefing podcast.