As Tesla shares tumble, Musk asks staff to not pay attention to 'stock market craziness'

Tesla's stock has hit its lowest value in over two years as the electric car maker plans to reduce its production cycle and investors worry about how much time CEO Elon Musk is dedicating to managing Twitter. According to a report from Sky news, in an email to Tesla staff, Musk sought to reassure employees, telling them not to be "bothered by stock market craziness" and saying that Tesla will be the "most valuable company on Earth" in the long term. Despite this, Tesla's stock was trading at $108.71 per share on Wednesday afternoon, down from a high of $407.36 in November 2021 and the lowest price since August 2020. Over the course of the year, the price of Tesla stock has declined 70%, making it one of the five companies with the biggest losses in the S&P 500 index of 500 large US-listed companies.

Musk became CEO of Twitter in October 2021 after settling a legal battle over the alleged number of bot accounts on the site and completing a deal for roughly $44bn. Since then, he has overseen thousands of job cuts and an overhaul of functions on the site. Investors are concerned that the purchase has taken up too much of Musk's time and that it may be affecting his management of Tesla. In addition to the slower production, investors are also concerned about weakened demand and heightened competition in the electric vehicle market as traditional carmakers switch to electric production.

Musk remains optimistic 

The company has experienced mixed fortunes recently, with slower output at its Shanghai factory but continued growth in profit, booking $3.3bn in its latest earnings report for the third quarter of 2022. The Shanghai plant is currently experiencing an extended lunar new year shutdown due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in China, where some of Tesla's factories are located. This is expected to affect production in the short term. Despite these challenges, Elon Musk remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the company and has encouraged employees to focus on their work.