Tesla touches 52-week low as investors decry Twitter distraction
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Despite a cooler than expected CPI print on Tuesday that lifted much of the market, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares tumbled to a new low for the year.
Shares of the Austin-based automaker slumped 6.27% lower near the midpoint of Tuesdayâs trading session. The decline on the day brings year to date losses beyond 60% and leaves shares trending toward their lowest level since late 2020 on a split-adjusted basis.
The steep drop for the stock in 2022 has accelerated sharply since CEO Elon Musk, who ceded his spot as the richest man in the world to Bernard Arnault on Tuesday, inked a $44B deal to purchase Twitter (TWTR). Since that point, Musk has sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock to fund the pricey deal.
On Tuesday, some investors pondered the possibility that he may be selling again.
âIs Elon selling TSLA shares again at lowest ever forward P/E (29x) before the 4Q TSLA trading window closes Friday?,â Gary Black, Managing Partner at The Future Fund, tweeted on Tuesday. âHard to fathom but itâs possible.â
Trading volume trended above the norm on the day, eclipsing 100M by 12:30 PM ET against an average daily trading volume of 82M. 
At the very least, Tesla investors were eager to voice their opinion that Twitter (TWTR) is an undue distraction for the automakerâs âtechnoking.â In fact, this growing unrest among the investor base was highlighted by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. 
Musk himself has alluded to his lack of day to day involvement in the automaker as of late, tweeting that âthe teams [at SpaceX (SPACE) and Tesla] are so good that often little is neededâ from him. However, this dynamic is increasingly unacceptable to investors. Even some of Muskâs most vocal fans lamented the distraction on Tuesday.
âPoor tesla canât get a real bid as its CEO is lost on a blue bird to hell,â Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber commented on Tuesday. âIf the BOD of Tesla made an announcement on whatâs happening with tesla leadership. Someone should be interim CEO. The stock decline would end. Itâs that simple.â
Read more on former Tesla (TSLA) board member Steven Westly concerns that Musk may be stretching himself thin.