The Department of Justice released millions of files from its investigation into deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein last week, a major document dump that included plenty of back-and-forth between the disgraced financier and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The exchanges, which took place years after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes against underage girls in 2008, had Musk asking if there was a “good time to visit” Epstein’s infamous Caribbean island, and asking him if he had “any parties planned” — blatantly contradicting Musk’s prior claims that he’d “declined” Epstein’s invitation for him to visit the island.
Unsurprisingly, Tesla’s shares plummeted when trading resumed on Monday, dropping over 3.5 percent in early trading. It’s since recovered somewhat, though it’s still down to around $426 from highs of about $450 last week — an intriguing sign that even for Musk’s most ardent die-hards, his fibs about his true relationships with Epstein could prove too much.
That’s despite Tesla’s car business showing some early signs of recovery across the pond. New registrations in some of the company’s largest European markets increased significantly this month compared to January 2025. Tesla registered 70 and 75 percent more cars in Spain and Italy, respectively, this year compared to the same period last year.
It all comes after a calamitous year for Tesla. While the EV market has grown considerably, the carmaker’s market share shrank massively in Europe last year as more would-be buyers became disillusioned with its mercurial CEO’s embrace of far-right idealism and meddling in local politics.
The instance once again highlights a bafflingly inverse relationship between the carmaker’s performance and its share price. The company’s valuation has grown considerably as sales continued to plummet last year. Shares are up almost 38 percent over the last six months and over 11 percent over the last 12 months.
Besides new revelations into Musk’s relationship with Epstein, competition from China is also applying major pressure on Tesla. Over the weekend, the Financial Times reported that Ford had been in talks with Chinese electronics giant and carmaker Xiaomi and competitor BYD about possible collaborations. (Both Ford and Xiaomi have since denied the reporting outright.)
One thing’s for sure: changes are afoot at Tesla. During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last week, Musk revealed that the Model S and X would be killed in favor of turning its Fremont, California, plant into a robot factory.
As for Musk’s close ties with Epstein, the CEO has since tried to distance himself from the growing PR crisis, arguing that the latest documents released by the DOJ were purportedly “fake news” and arguing that the emails were somehow being “misunderstood.”
Musk’s estranged daughter Vivian Wilson, meanwhile, has since confirmed the legitimacy of the released documents, writing in a post on Threads that “we were in St Barth’s at the time specified in the emails, and therefore I believe they are authentic.”
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