Following a sharp drop in Tesla’s stock at the end of last week, investors are set to drive it down further when trading begins today amid ongoing concerns about the mental state of CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla’s stock fell 8.93 percent on Friday, dropping to $305.50 per share. In after-hours trading over the weekend, investors seemed poised to push it down another 2.13 percent at the start of trading today.
While that would still be above the six-month low of $266.13 the stock hit in March following reports of potential liquidity problems for Tesla, investors clearly remain spooked after an extraordinary week that raised questions about Musk’s well-being.
Indeed, over the weekend, Arianna Huffington pleaded with Musk to adopt a healthier lifestyle, following a bizarre interview with the New York Times published on Friday in which he was reportedly on the verge of tears, complained about practically living at the factory, and acknowledged taking Ambien to help him sleep.
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Ford & Tesla are the only 2 American car companies to avoid bankruptcy. I just got home from the factory. You think this is an option. It is not.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2018
That interviewed capped a series of increasingly weird revelations that followed Musk’s announcement via Twitter about his plan to take the company private. Musk’s claims about having secured funding, and his discussions with his own board, were called into question. And the episode seemed to have triggered an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The sideshow overshadowed news that the company was making significant progress toward increasing production of its Model 3 and reaching at least a cash flow break-even point. But it seems for the coming weeks, the cloud of an investigation and Musk’s leadership are going to remain front and center for investors.
