Tesla stock plunged over 40 per cent this year, giving up the gains from an initial stock surge which followed President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

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“If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon,” he said in an unannounced all-hands Thursday meeting in Austin, Texas, which was streamed live on his social media platform X.

“I can’t walk past a TV without seeing a Tesla on fire,” he added. “I understand if you don’t want to buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down.”

This comes at a time when the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating a number of incidents where Tesla charging stations and dealerships have been vandalized, including fires started in Las Vegas, Kansas City and Missouri, according to a Bloomberg report.

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This came as a response to the growing backlash against Tesla CEO Musk’s role in the Trump administration.

One of the reasons for the backlash is the conflicts of interest. Trump pledged to buy his own Tesla, bringing a parade of them to the South Lawn of the White House and on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick went on Fox News, urging viewers to buy Tesla shares.

On top of this, sales are also slowing, with shipments dropping in key markets including Europe and China as Musk faces political pushback.

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Tesla had also paused the production of its most popular Model Y line earlier this year to prepare for a refreshed version.