Kingsview CIO Scott Martin On News Nation – with Connell McShane – 6.6.25
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CONNELL MCSHANE: Alright. Also today, we’ve had the Labor Department putting the jobs report out for the month of May. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, seemingly unfazed there by the trade war and all the uncertainty. It created jobs—more than expected in terms of the additions. President Trump reacted to this, calling the numbers great and celebrating what he claims is billions pouring in from tariffs as well. So there you have it.
Let’s bring in Scott Martin to talk a little bit more about this—four minutes ahead of the closing bell on Wall Street. So, better than expected, Scott, but still slowing growth compared to the past, right? So all this could be true at once—the revisions from previous months came down. So you could say, “Oh, it’s not good by that,” but, “It’s better by this.” What do you take away from all of it?
SCOTT MARTIN: Something in there for everyone, I would think, Connell. And I’ll tell you what is good about this number, though—it’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. And it’s about that number that we’ve had along the way here since Trump has taken over. That shows that the economy’s still growing—maybe not as robustly as it was prior to—but job growth is still being created now.
Oh my gosh—job growth is actually being created in the private sector for once, not the public sector like the government was, say, back when Biden was president. So you’ve got that, combined with average hourly earnings, which are kind of holding steady—let’s say at that 0.4% average monthly gain. You put those things together, and you’ve got a job market that’s probably waiting for some clarity on taxes and tariffs. And you’ve probably got a job market that’s going to be robustly growing in the second half of the year.
CONNELL MCSHANE: Alright, I want to ask you a question about Elon and Tesla. As I do that, just pause for one second for our audience because in a minute or two, we expect this Pam Bondi event to start. We have the charges against Kilmore Abrego Garcia—federal court in Tennessee—two charges of conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain. We told you about the report moments ago that this guy, Abrego Garcia, is expected to be brought back to the United States to face those charges. As we wait, you see they’re just about to start.
I want to squeeze in the Elon question. You know about yesterday and all the back and forth—the stock gets hammered with all the drama involving Trump, right? Comes back a little bit today. What about Tesla’s stock price now for you?
SCOTT MARTIN: A lot of risk here. Now, Tesla—I still believe—is a great company, as is SpaceX. But there’s going to be a lot of tumult in the near term between, say, Trump and Musk and everybody else in government. So you’ve got to be careful here if you’re adding to Tesla. We own Tesla long from many, many—say—quarters ago, and we’re happy with that position, Connell. But if you’re looking to, say, own Tesla for a long time into the future, I think you’ve got to take this weakness as a reason to add to the stock. But don’t do it right here. Wait for it to kind of settle out—probably around the $250–$265 range—and we’ll be adding some more then.
CONNELL MCSHANE: I think most people—like normal people—don’t even care about all of this stuff. They just buy a car, they think it’s the best car. Tesla makes good cars—they probably are, whatever. Then there’s this small group that are affected by politics. We’ve talked on the show before—some people may say, “Well, I don’t want to get involved in this. What if someone comes up and slashes my tires?” I said that myself—I said, “I don’t want to deal with this. It’s annoying if that’s what’s going to be happening.”
And then there’s people who just won’t want to be associated with Elon. And now we might have people on both sides of the aisle that don’t want to be associated with him. Do you think that kind of thing affects his business in a big way going forward?
SCOTT MARTIN: I do. And I think we’re starting to see that globally as well. So, I mean—yes, you’re right. There’s something on both sides of the aisle here for Elon—for his fans and his detractors—but more so, it does affect the company going forward. Certainly with regards to government contracts, the regulations, and everything that the government had probably planned to do with him, say, in the next couple of years. So Musk is going to have to be creative in this situation. He is going to probably have to be a little quieter, maybe more focused on the product again. Because that’s what brought Tesla to the forefront—it wasn’t the politics, it was the innovation. And now you’re seeing the noise overshadow some of that. So if I were Elon, I’d get back to that message and let the results speak for themselves.
CONNELL MCSHANE: I don’t know how it would’ve matched with that green jacket you’re wearing, but the President has a red Tesla for sale in the White House driveway. Have you put an offer in? He’s selling it.
SCOTT MARTIN: Can you imagine me in this jacket in that Tesla? I’d be driving all over D.C.—I’d even pick you up.
CONNELL MCSHANE: Yeah, he would be. I mean, I actually could imagine it in kind of an odd way. It would be weird. That would be a big headline for us. It’d be like, “Our regular guest Scott Martin bought the President’s Tesla.” Oh, look at the time—got it right here. Thanks, buddy.
We have the closing bell ringing at the New York Stock Exchange.
