Donald Trump is nothing if not a terrible scam artist. Calling him an “artist” is a scam itself. Early this morning he tweeted this:
When the president-elect tweets out something like this, stocks in a company begin to drop as people freak out about the possible earnings that that company may or may not have in the future.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated in March that the entire program would cost about $3.2 billion from the 2010 through 2020 fiscal years, including $2 billion for research and development.
Trump cited different numbers without providing any evidence. The military has not yet awarded a contract to actually assemble the planes.
Boeing had to reply with a statement.
"We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States. We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer."
Boeing’s stocks fell.
Before Trump's tweet, Boeing was trading at $152.16 a share. After the tweet, it fell, 1.6 percent to a low of $149.75 a share, according to FactSet. Within the first hour of trading, shares of Boeing were down about 0.5 percent. Boeing shares seesawed in afternoon trade Tuesday.
The shares came back up! Yeah, for whoever bought a bunch of shares earlier today when they dropped. Boo for whoever sold those shares because they were scared! Some have wondered aloud whether or not Trump is acting the part of the ultimate stock basher—someone who manipulates stock prices by bashing the perceived value of a stock. It would be interesting to see who did well on Boeing stock over the past few hours.