Big U.S. tech stocks have powered the market higher in recent years. Since the end of 2019, Nvidia shares have soared more than 1,700%, while Apple has advanced about 200% and Microsoft 140%.

The tech giants have pulled back recently on global recession and Trump's tariffs fears. NVIDIA shares were down 19% in the first three months of the year, while Apple and Microsoft have both fallen about 11%. Tesla Motors’s stock plummeted 36% in Q1, its steepest drop since 2022 and third-biggest decline for any quarter on record. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway topped the list of S&P 500 companies by market capitalization, up 17% in Q1.

Tesla Motors’s first-quarter drop wiped out over $460 billion in market cap. The majority of the quarter overlaps with Musk’s time in the second Trump administration, leading an effort to slash government spending and regulations, and terminating tens of thousands of federal employees.

Musk is leading what’s known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. As of Monday, the DOGE website claimed that, through March 24, the program had notched $140 billion in federal spending reductions, a number equal to less than one-third of Tesla’s valuation loss in the first quarter.

While the first-quarter stock drop has been painful for shareholders, they’ve experienced similar volatility in the recent past. In the first quarter of 2024, the shares plunged 29% due to declining auto sales and increased competition. But the stock rallied the rest of the year to finish up 63%.

“Long term, I think Tesla stock is going to do fine,” Musk said at the Green Bay rally. “So, you know, maybe it’s a buying opportunity.”

NVIDIA stocks declined 19% in Q1, weighed down by global risk-off sentiment and the launch of Chinese DeepSeek’s cheaper AI model.

Additionally, the company’s latest quarterly earnings report failed to impress investors as sales growth showed signs of slowing. However, Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro Australia, said: “Investors may see that as an opportunity, particularly with its valuation remaining attractive on the backdrop of ongoing growth.”