Tesla loses billions after founder Elon Musk reflects on ‘excruciating’ year and says ‘the worst is yet to come’
Musk sparked a furore in the markets, the media and among investors earlier this month when he tweeted his intentions to take his publicly traded company private
Tesla stock tumbled about 9 per cent on Friday, wiping billions off the company’s value, after CEO Elon Musk confessed that the past year of his professional life has been “excruciating” and that stress over his business has caused his health to deteriorate.
In an emotional interview with The New York Times, the Tesla founder also revealed that the pressures of work had caused him to spend his birthday stuck in the Tesla factory and almost miss his brother’s wedding. “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” he said, and warned that “the worst is yet to come”.
Tesla shares closed at US$305.50, their lowest level since August 1, as analysts and business professors questioned whether the company’s board should grant Musk a leave or even replace him with a more seasoned CEO. The decline lopped US$5.4 billion off Tesla’s market value.
Musk, whose company posted a record US$709.6 million net loss in the first quarter of this year while struggling to manufacture large numbers of its Model 3 mass-market electric car, said in the interview that he had been working up to 120 hours a week and as a result his health had been “not great” and his friends had been worried about him.
I thought the worst of it was over. But from a personal standpoint, the worst is yet to come
“It’s kind of bizarre,” said Charles Elson, director of the corporate governance center at the University of Delaware. “It’s a drama we shouldn’t be watching.”