Tesla’s stock took a beating Monday on the heels of a quickly-deleted tweet from Musk attacking a Thai rescue diver.
Elon Musk is no stranger to headlines, drawing eyes and laughs with outlandish tweets and good-natured antics, but tech VC Gene Munster of Loup Ventures says Musk’s latest stunt crossed a line.
« Your behavior is fueling an unhelpful perception of your leadership – thin-skinned and short-tempered, » Loup Ventures’ Munster wrote in an open letter to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.
Tesla’s stock took a beating Monday on the heels of a quickly-deleted tweet from Musk attacking a Thai rescue diver who assisted with the recovery of 12 stranded boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave.
« The exchange with [rescue diver] Vern Unsworth crossed the line. I suspect you would agree given you deleted the string from Twitter, but it will take more than that to regain investor confidence, » Munster said in the letter. « Thankfully, the road to regaining investor confidence is well traveled. It starts with an apology. Then, focus your message on your progress toward achieving Tesla’s mission. You might consider taking a Twitter sabbatical. »
Munster wrote the letter « on behalf of investors who believe in you and your mission, » he said, though neither Munster nor Loup Venture own shares of Tesla.
The stock has become something of a confidence index for the CEO, suffering wild swings in recent months as Musk berated analysts on an earnings call and lashed out at journalists on Twitter .
Read Munster’s full letter to Musk.
