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Tesla Shares Drop After “Emotional” Elon Musk Interview

Elon Musk is at the end of his tether – that’s the impression one gets when reading his “emotional” interview with the New York Times, which sees him alternating between tears and laughter.
Elon Musk opens up to the NY Times, admits he's exhausted and stressed out 4 photos
Photo: Noah Berger/Bloomberg
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The interview follows a whirlwind week for Musk and Tesla, which culminated with him being subpoenaed by the San Francisco office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after Musk tweeted about his intention of taking the company private.

The piece shows Musk as a man who stands alone, exhausted and stressed-out, often turning to Ambien to be able to sleep, spending days on end in his office and losing his grip on the real life. The impact of the interview was immediate: Tesla stock dropped the day after it was published, and is on track to its worst week since February 2016, MarketWatch reports.

“Tesla stock ended at its lowest since Aug. 1, down 8.9% at $305.50. Weekly losses topped 14%, its largest since the week of Feb. 5, 2016, when it slid 15%. Tesla shares also relinquished this year’s gains; they are down 1.9% in 2018, vs. a gain of 6.6% for the S&P SPX, +0.33%,” the report notes.

The drop comes after a few days of Tesla share prices shooting up, in the aftermath of Musk’s tweet. Asked by the NY Times if he regrets it, he responds simply, “Why should I?

Musk has few regrets, as per his own admission. He spent his most recent birthday alone, working, and says he can go for days without seeing sunlight. He admits he’s had his worst year so far and he imagines it won’t get any better soon, not at the rate he’s going.

The Times notes the board is actively looking for someone to second Musk and take some of his daily responsibilities, and thus relieve him of some of the stress. If that’s the case, Musk isn’t aware of it – or he wouldn’t say.

In a statement to the Times, the board (minus Musk) insists they stand by their CEO, as he is.

“There have been many false and irresponsible rumors in the press about the discussions of the Tesla board,” the statement said.

“We would like to make clear that Elon’s commitment and dedication to Tesla is obvious. Over the past 15 years, Elon’s leadership of the Tesla team has caused Tesla to grow from a small start-up to having hundreds of thousands of cars on the road that customers love, employing tens of thousands of people around the world, and creating significant shareholder value in the process.”
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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