Tesla Inc. fans and supporters in the financial community are calling on Elon Musk to stop divisive political attacks and to walk away from his contentious Twitter acquisition for the long-term health of the automaker.
The calls come as Tesla’s stock price plummets with the rest of the market and the controversial CEO steps up his criticism of the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden and Twitter executives.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold.”
Musk also called Yale University “the epicenter of the woke mind virus attempting to destroy civilization” in response to a critical comment from a Yale professor. The Twitter topic “Poor Elon,” in which users mostly mocked the world’s richest person for his comments, was among the top trending topics Wednesday.
While Tesla has a commanding lead in the global EV market, the automaker is dealing with lost production from a plant shutdown in China and parts shortages for its new factories in Texas and Berlin. It also faces growing EV competition from Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai and startups like Rivian and Lucid.
Tesla fans and influencers, including the Whole Mars Catalog blog with nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter, called on Musk to tone down his comments and focus more on the automaker and less on side projects.
“Elon, I listen to a lot of Tesla shareholders and they are feeling the pain in the market and do not appreciate your political comments,” the Whole Mars account said on Twitter Wednesday. “Many of them are Democrats like you were and take offense to your comments. I wish you would talk more about Tesla and less about this BS.”
Whole Mars Catalog, written by several longtime Tesla fans who often interact with Musk on Twitter, also defended the Tesla CEO and accused Democratic politicians of favoring legacy U.S. automakers over Tesla. Musk has complained that President Biden has not invited him to EV-themed events at the White House, which hosted leaders from GM and Ford.
Musk’s attack on Democrats was welcomed by prominent Republicans, including Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert.
“Welcome to the right side, Elon!” said her Twitter account with 1.3 million followers. Fox News personality Sean Hannity’s Twitter account, with 5.8 million followers, posted a news story on Musk with the headline “Ditching the Donkey.”
Some Tesla supporters suggested vehicle sales could be hurt by Musk’s political comments, especially in California where the automaker clocked in at No. 2 in first-quarter registrations — after Toyota — according to Experian. Tesla had 11 percent of registrations in California, the No. 1 car market in the U.S. and a Democratic stronghold.
“Cali is Tesla’s most important U.S. market,” said a comment from the Twitter account James Cat, a Canadian Tesla fan with nearly 10,000 Twitter followers. “Maybe stopping ripping on California in public appearances @elonmusk?”
Musk also continued his beef with Twitter executives after sealing a $44 billion bid in April to take the social media platform private. Market analysts suggest Musk has buyer’s remorse and is trying to push down the asking price before the deal formally closes. Twitter Inc. has said it will enforce the original agreement, potentially setting up a legal fight.
Because Musk has pledged a chunk of his Tesla shares to finance the Twitter deal, analysts have suggested the linkage is contributing to Tesla’s falling stock price. On Wednesday, Tesla shares closed at $709.81, for a 31 percent decline over the last month. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is down 16 percent in the same period.
“The way Musk has handled this is a disaster,” said Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, who is bullish on Tesla. “It’s a black eye for Musk and I think in the eyes of [Wall Street]. I think there’s actually a net negative impact even in terms of Tesla stock, just the way Musk has handled this,” Ives said on Bloomberg TV.
Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund and a Tesla bull, said Twitter is not a good fit with Musk’s other companies, which include rocket firm SpaceX and tunneling firm The Boring Co. Tesla, SpaceX and Boring are focused on engineering and product excellence, while Twitter is a different animal, he said.
Twitter “needs a strong leader in the media and advertising business, which is not Elon’s core competency,” Black wrote on Twitter this week. “It’s like asking a brain surgeon to sell luxury homes.”