As Elon Musk's influence in the U.S. government grows, Tesla's fortunes are continuing to nosedive.
The EV maker just had its worst month since December 2022, overlapping with CEO Musk's first full month as part of President Donald Trump's administration.
Tesla stock fell by approximately 28% last month, the company's worst month of decline since a 37% drop in December 2022.
Several factors are driving this decline, including a drop in sales, fears around Trump's tariffs, and rising backlash against the business's boss, the richest man on the planet, Musk.
The company's poor performance has also affected Musk's personal wealth. At the beginning of February, Musk's net worth was around $433 billion. Today, that number is $330 billion, per Bloomberg's billionaire index -- a drop of $103 billion.
Representatives for Tesla and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune.
There is an integral connection between Musk and the Tesla brand.
The billionaire is the public face of the brand, and actions he's taken outside the company have directly affected Tesla's performance in the past.
As Wedbush's analyst Dan Ives put it last year: "Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla."
In the last month, the SpaceX and Boring Company founder emerged as cost-cutter-in-chief within the Trump administration, overseeing mass firings of federal employees and becoming the face of several controversial decisions, including the shuttering of U.S. humanitarian aid programs.
His actions within the government have prompted backlash globally, especially in Europe, where Tesla has been targeted by activists encouraging people to ditch the EVs.
Tesla's market share in Europe was already decreasing, with vehicle registrations plummeting in countries like France and Germany.
Tesla's car sales in Germany, Europe's top market for electric vehicles, dropped 76% in February compared to the same month last year, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry. This marks the second consecutive month of declining sales for the U.S. automaker in the country.
Musk has also become involved in German politics, which may have alienated some customers.
The billionaire aggressively campaigned for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country's far-right party ahead of last month's parliamentary elections and criticized what he saw as the country's focus "on past guilt."