Tesla Investors Complain That Elon Musk Is Spending Too Much Time on Twitter — On Twitter
As Tesla's stock falls, there are increasing calls for Musk to return to his duties as CEO or pass the baton.
By Jonathan Small •
This has not been a stellar week for Tesla.
Shares are down nearly 13%, and yesterday company CEO Elon Musk disclosed that he sold 22 million shares of his Tesla stock, amounting to $3.6 billion.
Related: Elon Musk Isn't the World's Richest Person Anymore — Here's Who Stole His Title
Some Tesla investors have begun to blame Musk's lack of focus for the company's decline. They say he's been too distracted by Twitter, which he bought in October for $44 billion, noting that he's spent the last several weeks working from the company's San Francisco office, hosting audio chats, and engaging in too much public discourse about Twitter's new features and policies.
Perhaps ironically, many of these frustrated investors have turned to Twitter itself to vent their anger.
"I expect the Tesla Board to ramp up pressure on Elon to find a talented, driven 24/7 media exec to run Twitter so Elon Musk can refocus all his energies on running Tesla," tweeted Tesla investor Gary Black, who is Managing Partner, The Future Fund LLC.
I expect the $TSLA Board to ramp up pressure on Elon to find a talented, driven 24/7 media exec to run Twitter so @elonmusk can refocus all his energies on running $TSLA, which can be a $3T market cap company in 5 years. @MartinViecha @hiromichimizuno@jgebbia @IraEhrenpreis
— Gary Black (@garyblack00) December 14, 2022
Twitter investor Ross Gerber, the co-founder of Investment Advisor, agreed, tweeting that Tesla's fortunes would turn around if the company found an interim CEO.
If the BOD of tesla made an announcement on what's happening with tesla leadership. Someone should be interm CEO. The stock decline would end. It's that simple. @MartinViecha $tsla
— Ross Gerber (@GerberKawasaki) December 13, 2022
In a letter to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm and senior director of investor relations Martin Viecha, Nancy Levine asked: "What, if anything, is the Tesla board of directors doing to protect shareholders from the damages inflicted by Mr. Musk's Twitter activity?"
The letter was posted on Twitter, naturally.
I emailed @Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm and head of investor relations Martin Viecha today with questions about Elon Musk's #Twitter activities and his impact on $TSLA. I will report if I receive a response. Source reporting in thread below. #CorpGov #RiskManagement pic.twitter.com/xh3UysFAKi
— Nancy Levine (@nancylevine) December 12, 2022
But not all investors are concerned about Musk's latest actions.
Tesla investor Galileo Russell told The Washington Post that although he thinks Musk has gotten a little too political lately, he still supports him.
"I hold all my Tesla shares and continue to believe Elon is the best CEO on the planet and best person to run Tesla," he said.
Musk himself has told investors not to worry— albeit through Twitter.
"I will make sure Tesla shareholders benefit from Twitter long-term," he tweeted earlier this week.
I will make sure Tesla shareholders benefit from Twitter long-term
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 13, 2022
