Financial markets were thrown into pandemonium when President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk clashed on social media. Musk blasted Trump's budget plan, causing Trump to threaten to withhold government contracts from Musk's firms and label him "crazy." Musk responded with personal charges, intensifying the feud online.
The fallout was immediate. Tesla shares fell 14%, wiping off more than $150 billion in market value. The cryptocurrency market also tanked, with Bitcoin going below $101,000 and Ethereum and Dogecoin plummeting 7% and 10%, respectively.
Nearly $1 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency holdings were liquidated in 24 hours, primarily through bullish bets, as exchanges such as Bybit and Binance suffered large losses.
Altcoins like Solana and meme tokens had double-digit falls, while the whole cryptocurrency market lost more than $170B in value. Memes and panic spread throughout social media, and economists warned that the feud exposed deeper market vulnerabilities. As the dust settles, traders remain cautious, aware that in crypto, a single tweet may cause tremendous volatility.
