Elon Musk can’t follow his own advice. Even after admonishing himself for engaging with detractors on Twitter, the Tesla CEO was at it again this weekend. Shares of the electric-car maker fell as much as 3.6% after the CEO called a British cave explorer who had criticised him a paedophile. The tweet has been deleted. Controversial outbursts are neither new nor unusual for Musk, who frequently spars with critics and investors betting against his company. In May, another such histrionic kicked off a sharp decline in Tesla shares. Musk cut off analysts’ queries about the company’s capital requirements and Model 3 reservation holders during a conference call, calling them "boring, bonehead questions." After Tesla shares fell 22% in March — the steepest monthly drop in more than seven years — Musk jokingly tweeted on April Fools’ Day that the company had gone bankrupt. The following week, he hung up on the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board who called to tell him the ag...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.