SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: TESLA’S STOCK POPPED MONDAY AFTER TWITTER USERS VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE CHIEF TWIT STEPPING DOWN.
NEARLY 58% SAID YES TO ELON MUSK RESIGNING AS TWITTER’S CEO, A RESULT HE PROMISED TO ABIDE BY, DESPITE NOTING HE DOESN’T HAVE A SUCCESSOR AS OF SUNDAY NIGHT.
IT’S ALWAYS BEEN MUSK’S PLAN TO EVENTUALLY APPOINT SOMEONE TO RUN TWITTER, BUT SINCE HIS OCTOBER PURCHASE HE’S ACTED AS CEO TO THE DETRIMENT OF HIS ACTUAL GOLDEN GOOSE, TESLA.
TESLA’S STOCK IS DOWN MORE THAN 60% THIS YEAR, WORSE THAN EVERY OTHER MAJOR TECH STOCK ASIDE FROM META.
TECH ANALYST DAN IVES SAID MONDAY MORNING THAT MUSK HAS BEEN USING TESLA STOCK “AS HIS OWN PERSONAL ATM MACHINE FOR TWITTER SINCE THIS SAGA BEGAN IN APRIL…CALLING IT “A BLACK EYE MOMENT FOR MUSK THAT’S BEEN A MAJOR OVERHANG ON TESLA’S STOCK.”
HE SAYS MUSK STEPPING DOWN AS CHIEF TWIT WOULD BE “A MAJOR STEP FORWARD WITH MUSK FINALLY READING THE ROOM ON GROWING FRUSTRATION AROUND THIS TWITTER NIGHTMARE.”
BUT COULD MUSK’S TENURE RUNNING TWITTER LEAD TO LEGAL CONSEQUENCES AT TESLA, NOT JUST FOR MUSK, BUT FOR TESLA’S BOARD?
MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRAT, SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN, IS QUESTIONING WHETHER THE BOARD SUFFICIENTLY PROTECTED SHAREHOLDERS FROM MUSK’S ACTIONS FOLLOWING HIS TWITTER PURCHASE.
IN A LETTER TO TESLA BOARD CHAIR ROBYN DENHOLM, WARREN RAISED CONCERNS OF POSSIBLE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES AND MISAPPROPRIATION OF TESLA RESOURCES, WHERE MUSK REPORTEDLY DIVERTED TESLA ENGINEERS TO HELP WITH TWITTER. SHE ALSO DOUBTED THE BOARD IS PREVENTING MUSK FROM TREATING “THE PUBLIC COMPANY AS A PRIVATE PLAYTHING,” AND SAYS “IT APPEARS THAT THE BOARD HAS TAKEN NO ACTION TO PROTECT THE COMPANY.”
WARREN HAS ASKED THE BOARD TO DETAIL EXACTLY WHAT ACTIONS THEY ARE TAKING – NO LATER THAN JANUARY THIRD.
I’M SIMONE DEL ROSARIO IN NEW YORK IT’S JUST BUSINESS.