As Musk Fiddles With Twitter, Tesla Burns

Elon Musk recently tweeted that he'd be "working & sleeping" at Twitter, his newest acquisition, "until the org is fixed." But that intense dedication to Twitter (and the chaos that has ensued since Musk took over) is among the factors that have investors in his other companies concerned, especially those at electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla. Fortune reports that Tesla stock fell 6.8% on Monday, to $167.87—the lowest it's been in two years. The magazine notes that the shares have lost nearly half their value in just under two months.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Tesla's Monday showing was the single worst performance in the S&P 500. If the plummeting continues at its current rate, Tesla could experience its worst annual performance ever in 2022, per MarketWatch. And Musk's "loss of focus" on the car company has indeed been cited as a component that's led to negative bias against the stock, a Cowen analyst tells Fortune.

But the Motley Fool notes other factors that have come into play, including a Tesla recall over the weekend of more than 321,000 vehicles due to a rear taillight issue, as well as re-upped worries about COVID restrictions in China. Tesla's largest factory is in Shanghai, and if things get locked down again, Tesla's fourth quarter could get hit hard. (More Tesla stories.)