Tesla shares fall and Elon Musk loses US$295 million after his baseless ‘pedo’ attack on Thai cave rescuer rattles investors

Four days after Tesla’s fourth-largest shareholder urged “a time of quiet and peace,” chief executive Elon Musk lobbed one of his nastiest stink bombs yet: an accusation about an organiser of the Thailand cave rescue that investors say is a major distraction from his mission running the embattled carmaker.

Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who played a key role in the saving of 12 boys trapped in a flooded cavern, had said Musk’s unattempted idea of dispatching a miniature submarine “had absolutely no chance of working” and was “just a PR stunt.”

But Musk took the brawl one step further, ranting to his 22 million Twitter followers on Sunday that Unsworth was a paedophile who “really did ask for it.” Pressed to explain the “pedo” accusation, Musk said: “Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true.”

Rattled investors sent Tesla shares tumbling 3 per cent on Monday, extending a losing streak for a company that was only weeks ago America’s most valuable carmaker, worth more than General Motors. Musk’s critics have long said his bitter slugfests – with rivals, partners, analysts, journalists and employees, to name a few – have hamstrung Tesla on its vaunted mission to reshape the auto industry and change the world.

Tesla stock has plunged more than 16 per cent since last month, shaving billions of dollars off the company’s market value at a time when it still depends on investor cash and confidence. The company lost US$2 billion last year and has never earned an annual profit.