Elon Musk Supports Trump: Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Soar

Shares of the Trump Media & Technology Group experienced a surge of about 15% on Monday after tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise appearance at a Trump event in Butler, Pennsylvania. The choice of location is significant, as the former president survived an assassination attempt there in July. Elon Musk, serving as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), vehemently endorsed Trump. He portrayed Trump as the only candidate capable of preserving democracy in the U.S. and warned that this would be 'the last election' if Trump did not win. Trump had previously stated that he would offer Musk a cabinet position, although Musk, with his numerous commitments, would likely be unavailable. While Trump is in a head-to-head race with the current Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Harris has been increasingly present in the media, including appearing in a popular podcast and an interview for '60 Minutes,' to secure her polling numbers. Trump continues to hold approximately 60% of the shares in DJT, which, at a current price of about $19 per share, corresponds to a market value of around $2.3 billion. Following the company’s IPO on the Nasdaq in March, executed via a merger with the Special Purpose Acquisition Company Digital World Acquisition Corp., the stock value has been volatile. After the lifting of the lock-up period last month, which was intended to prevent stakeholders like Trump from selling or transferring their shares, Trump confirmed that he does not intend to sell his shares. In June, following Joe Biden’s lackluster performance in a presidential debate against Trump, the stock experienced a temporary increase. Trump founded Truth Social after being banned from major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, now X. He has since been reinstated on these platforms and returned in August. Despite Trump’s comeback, the fundamental business of Truth Social remains under scrutiny, as the company reported a net loss of $16.4 million in the last quarter.