As Tesla's stock drops 54%+ in 2022, on pace for its worst year on record, investors criticize Elon Musk's involvement in Twitter and his lack of focus on Tesla
Supporters of Tesla and Musk are asking questions about who is running the electric-vehicle maker
Wall Street JournalMeghan Bobrowsky
Context & Ripple Effects
The sell-off has been building all year: Tesla shares were already down nearly 30% by May after Musk disclosed his Twitter stake, with investors flagging deal structure and distraction from the start (investors flagged distraction). By October, analysts had cut expectations to just 4.5% revenue growth for 2022 as macro weakness compounded the overhang.
What changed by mid-December is that the criticism moved from the stock chart to the boardroom question itself — who is actually running Tesla. Reporting on Musk's erratic leadership at Twitter and his shrinking borrowing power as TSLA fell 65% turned 'distraction' into a concrete governance concern, and by January Bloomberg was documenting the spillover into customer sentiment.
First-order effects
Tesla shareholders are openly questioning who is running the company during its worst year on record, with the stock down more than 54% and supporters — not just critics — asking whether Musk can steward both Tesla and Twitter at once.
Musk personally bears the brunt: the same slide erased roughly two-thirds of his fortune and shrank the collateral behind his borrowing, tightening his financial flexibility exactly when his attention is split.
Second-order effects
The damage extends past the ticker to demand: Bloomberg's reporting shows Musk's Twitter conduct making him toxic for some Tesla customers at a moment when the company needs new buyers, converting a leadership story into a sales risk.
Every further drop deepens the loop — a weaker stock shrinks Musk's borrowing capacity against his Tesla holdings, raising pressure for him to demonstrate renewed focus or sell shares, either of which feeds back into investor anxiety.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, the episode becomes a case study in key-person risk at founder-led companies: boards and institutional holders may push harder for structural checks — succession planning, attention commitments, or compensation tied to engagement rather than promise — especially with Tesla's valuation resting heavily on unproven bets like a robotaxi service that trails Waymo's fleet by an order of magnitude.
The divergence between Tesla's market narrative (self-driving upside, reflected in share highs and a pay package worth up to about $1T) and its operational reality gives skeptical investors a template for challenging other companies priced on founder vision rather than current results.
The trend: Investor tolerance for split-focus founder CEOs is collapsing, and Tesla's worst year on record is the stress test that turns 'visionary premium' valuations into governance debates.
@elonmusk @WholeMarsBlog That used to be true... has recently semi backfired from the attacks from MSM which has distorted everything. I believe tesla will benefit from twitter long term. Better messaging around tesla would be helpful. I certainly supported the twitter takeover. …
Only one other time did I think @elonmusk was putting $TSLA SH at risk. That was Feb 2021 when TSLA invested $1.5B in #btc @ $32K per btc. I exited TSLA at $290 (split-adj) then re-entered in May/Jun at <$200 when it became clear TSLA wouldn't buy more BTC as institutions exited.…
4/ What will change? IMHO: 1) @elonmusk will come to his senses that attacking his woke left customer base is hurting the $TSLA brand and he will tone down his political views. 2) Elon will soon appoint a TWTR CEO and resume his duties as $TSLA CEO full time, easing SH tensions.
Diversification is a key element to investing. If you are having doubts or concerns and you hold tesla, we are here to help tesla shareholders build a financial plan. That way you can turn these times into opportunities... https://gerberkawasaki.com/ $TSLA
I don't think Tesla price is falling because investors think Elon is distracted. I think it's falling because people are finally removing the ‘Elon Premium’ as they realize he should sit on the liabilities side of the balance sheet, not assets. People are finally seeing sense. ht…
The chorus of Tesla individual investors expressing misgivings that @elonmusk's involvement with Twitter may be to the detriment of the electric-vehicle maker is getting louder. $TSLA is down more than 50% this year via @MeghanBobrowsky https://www.wsj.com/...