Tesla shares continued their decline in Tuesday trading, even as word spread that Elon Musk is “actively searching” for a new CEO to take the helm at Twitter.
The stock slid 6.3% to $140.40 even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average & S&P 500 moved higher. The stock’s slump brought it to its lowest point in two years.
The electric car maker’s shares started the day down 52% in the past year, with the decline accelerating in the two months since Musk paid $44 million to purchase the social media platform that has visibly occupied much of his attention.
Tesla’s share price plunge has cost Musk the title of “richest man in the world” — he’s now in the No. 2 slot according to both Bloomberg and Fortune. And last week, the automaker’s third-largest shareholder called for him to step down from Tesla now that his time is largely diverted to Twitter.
Musk has also sold off about $40 billion of the Tesla stock he holds, including $3.6 billion worth last week.
The combination of the public theatrics, a potential recession and growing competition in the electric vehicle market has analysts shifting their views on Tesla stock’s potential. While no major downgrades were issued Tuesday, analysts at three different Wall Street houses cut their price targets, or the value they expect the stock to reach in the next year.
Analysts are also reducing their forecasts for how many cars Tesla will deliver to customers in 2023. Analyst Jairam Nathan of Daiwa Capital Markets said his target cut to $177 from $240 also reflects “a higher risk from the Twitter distraction.”
Sunday brought a new twist to the saga, when Musk posted one of his now-signature polls on Twitter, asking if he should step down as “head of Twitter.” The billionaire promised to “abide by the results.”
A few minutes later, he also tweeted, “As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”
In a landslide, 57.5% of the 17.5 million respondents to the non-scientific poll said “yes.”
He appears to be keeping his promise.
CNBC reported Tuesday that Musk is “actively searching” for a new Twitter CEO. The network cited sources that said the search began before Musk posted his poll.
On Sunday, Musk also posted, “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
In court last month to answer a Tesla shareholder case claiming that Musk’s pay package in 2018 was excessive, Musk said his time at the helm of Twitter would be limited. “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time,” he said.
While user numbers are reportedly up at Twitter and the company said the World Cup was a big winner for driving traffic, with 147 billion global impressions, advertisers have fled the platform amid Musk’s tumultuous leadership.