Han Media: Musk Founding a Party ... 28 Trillion Won in South Korea "Taken Hostage"

Tesla Stock, South Korea Holds 28 Trillion Won ... Affected by the Relationship Between Trump and Musk, It Has Been Volatile for Days

"Don't do this, Elon. All the family's retirement money is here ..."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump, eventually taking the drastic path of founding a new political party, causing dissatisfaction among South Korean overseas stock investors (known as "Xue Ma" or "Xue Ma ants"). Because Musk's involvement in politics has led to Tesla's stock being cut in half from its peak, and it has recently rebounded slightly, but now faces new major political risks.

Tesla is the single most held foreign stock by Koreans. According to the Korea Securities Depository on June 6, as of June 3, the value of Tesla stocks held by Koreans was $21 billion (approximately 28.67 trillion won), exceeding the second-ranked NVIDIA by over $7.4 billion (approximately 10 trillion won). In the past month (June 5 - July 4), the most popular stock bought by overseas stock investors was also Tesla. The first in overseas stock purchases was an index fund (TSLL) that gained twice the increase of Tesla's stock price, followed by Tesla stock, with a total purchase amount of $5.5 billion (approximately 7.5 trillion won), surpassing the amount purchased by individual investors for Samsung Electronics (6.602 trillion won). Additionally, the amount indirectly held through the National Pension Service is also considerable. As of the end of March, the National Pension Service held approximately 5.34 million shares of Tesla, which is about 2.3 trillion won based on the current stock price.

Since the U.S. presidential election in November 2024, the relationship between Musk and Trump, characterized by cooperation and conflict, has caused Tesla's stock to fluctuate dramatically. After Trump's election in mid-December 2024, Tesla's stock price broke through $463 per share, reaching a historical high; however, after Musk became the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and began to clash with Trump, the stock price dropped to around $221. Although the stock price later recovered to around $300, it once fell more than 14% in a single day whenever the two started a verbal battle.

Analysis suggests that political risk is merely an excuse, and the real issue lies in Tesla's core business - the electric vehicle industry gradually losing its competitiveness. Morgan Stanley analyst Ryan Brinkman gave a target stock price of $115 for Tesla based on recent poor performance and the policy of abolishing electric vehicle subsidies, which is 63% lower than the closing price on July 4 (315.35 USD).

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837011295614152/

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