Tesla stock continues to crash as Elon Musk heads down the Twitter rabbit hole

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Shares in Tesla fell more than 8 percent in early trading Tuesday as Elon Musk’s erratic ownership of Twitter appeared to weigh heavily on the electric car maker.

Tesla stock fell below $113 by 12 noon, hitting a new 52-week low, and has lost more than two-thirds of its value since Mr. Musk first offered to buy the social media platform in April.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 34 percent, or nearly half of Tesla’s losses, so far in 2022.

CNBC reported that Tesla’s latest downturn came after news that its Shanghai plant would cut production in January, after it was forced to close in December due to the Covid shutdown.

Investors and analysts have blamed Tesla’s poor performance in 2022 on Musk’s prolonged takeover of Twitter and have pointed to his embrace of far-right conspiracy theories as alienating many potential customers.

Tesla stock has fallen sharply since CEO Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter

(Google Funding)

“Musk is seen as a ‘sleeper at the wheel’ from a leadership perspective for Tesla at a time when investors need a CEO to navigate this storm of Fifth category.

“Instead, the laser-catcher is laser-focusing on what has been an ongoing, never-ending nightmare for investors on Twitter, hoping that a new CEO will be chosen in the coming weeks as the first step forward,” Ives wrote.

We now need leadership from Musk to navigate Tesla through this downturn and come out strong on the other side of the storm. The Street doesn’t want to see Musk’s Ted Striker moments at this big, tense juncture and a critical juncture for global EV adoption. Key to the next few months

— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) December 23, 2022

Musk said he plans to step down from running Twitter once he finds someone “foolish enough to take the job.”

The electric car maker has also faced falling demand amid concerns that the US economy is heading into recession and increasing competition from the likes of Ford and Chevrolet.

It has now lost more than $800 billion in market value from its peak of $1.24 trillion in November 2021.

Previously the world’s richest man, Musk’s net worth fell by $133 billion to $139 billion in 2022, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Musk has sold $22.9 billion worth of Tesla stock since April to fund his acquisition of the social media company.

The Independent requested comment from Tesla.

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