The US stock market is tumbling as uncertainty over President Donald Trump administration’s trade policies including the looming prospect of trade wars with long-term US allies

Musk appeared crestfallen at points in the interview (Image: Fox News)

Elon Musk appeared to “die inside” during a Fox Business Network interview when asked about how his businesses are doing.

This comes as shares of his electric vehicle company Tesla continue to collapse as investors’ confidence drops and sales slide around the world. Share price in the company collapsed 15.4 per cent, its steepest decline since September 2020.

Appearing on Fox Business Network’s ‘Kudlow,’ hosted by Larry Kudlow, Musk was there to discuss the massive cuts orchestrated by his quasi-department DOGE. But that was until he was hit by Kudlow’s curveball.

Amid talk of the cuts, the interviewer asks: “Are you giving up your other stuff? I mean, how are you running your other businesses?”

Musk looks down before saying: “With great difficulty”, with many online suggesting he looked in discomfort.

He gives a morose chuckle before appearing to be about to continue speaking but just lets out a big sigh. “I mean..” he gets out before the interviewer fills the silence, trying to get the interview back on track by remarking: “There’s no turning back, you were saying.”

After one more deep breath, Musk reverts back to his classic lines about DOGE, saying: “I’m just here trying to make government more effecient. Eliminate waste and fraud. And so far we’re making good progress.”

A clip of the interview appeared on Reddit forum ‘r/WatchPeopleDieInside,’ to much ridicule from the internet denizens who dwell there.

Tesla’s crash came with Wall Street in the middle of a sell-off caused by uncertainty over the Trump administration’s trade policies.

Many analysts have attributed Tesla’s plummeting sales and stock to Musk’s support of President Donald Trump and other far right candidates around the world.

Musk appeared on Fox News’ Kudlow (Image: Fox News)
Musk pumped $270 million into Trump’s campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November. Tesla stock soared to $479 per share by mid-December, but have since tumbled back to earth, losing 40% of their value.

Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn government downsizing efforts, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The department has promised massive federal worker layoffs and aims to drastically reduce government spending.

Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy, environmentally-conscious liberals who have turned to electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

Tesla sales are falling in California, the company’s biggest U.S. market, and the company recorded its first annual global sales decline last year. Similarly, Tesla sales plunged 45% in Europe in January, according to research firm Jato Dynamics, even as overall electric vehicle sales rose. The sales numbers were particularly bad in Germany and France.