Even in Silicon Valley, which is well known for executives with big money and big personalities, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s style on Twitter of jousting with his critics still manages to stand out.
Twitter may have become the de facto forum for taking on haters of all stripes, but is it possible that something Musk recently did might have gone too far, especially for the CEO of a publicly traded company worth more than $52 billion?
Musk’s counterattacking style on the social network evokes comparisons to President Donald Trump’s tweets, some analysts say. And over the weekend, Musk hit back on Twitter after a British cave explorer in Thailand insulted Musk during a CNN interview.
But Musk’s retorts have prompted some concern from Tesla watchers, and that may explain some of the 2.75 percent drop Monday in Tesla’s shares, which closed at $310.10.
Investors and Tesla observers digested a set of Musk’s tweets in which he all but alleged, without any evidence, that a British cave explorer — who aided in the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand — was a pedophile.
In a tweet he sent Sunday, Musk reacted to the cave explorer, Vern Unsworth, who had told CNN that Musk’s offer of a “mini-sub” for use in the Thai boys’ rescue effort was a “PR stunt” and that Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts.”
That was more than enough to get Musk going. But even for someone who has challenged questions from Wall Street analysts as “bonehead” and “boring,” Musk’s baseless claim about Unsworth could keep the Tesla CEO in the public spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Musk, who went to the cave in Thailand to offer his mini-sub to help in rescuing the boys, said on Twitter that he “never saw this British expat guy” at the site, and then challenged Unsworth to show the final rescue video of the soccer team members.
And then Musk brought out the heavy artillery.
“You know what, don’t bother showing the video. We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”
In Great Britain, “pedo” is sometimes used as a shorthand term for pedophile. Musk’s tweet was eventually deleted, but not before Musk basically offered up a cash bet that his statement about Unsworth was true.
It’s gonna cost a helluva lot more than a dollar if it isn’t bro$TSLA pic.twitter.com/0x2N3pohu2
— TC (@TESLAcharts) July 15, 2018
“Bet ya a signed dollar it’s true,” Musk tweeted about Unsworth.
Analysts who follow Tesla were perplexed about why Musk would allow himself to say such potentially libelous comments in a public forum.
“It’s a little disconcerting,” said Efraim Levy, who covers Tesla for CFRA Research. “There’s a lot of commotion with the (Musk) tweets, which come off something like a vendetta. It creates a question of what does this mean, and if there is something more to be concerned about.”
For his part, Unsworth, who lives in Thailand, told journalists at the cave site on Monday that Musk showed his true self with his comments.
“I believe he’s called me a paedophile (sic),” Unsworth said, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. “I think people realise (sic) what sort of guy [Musk] is.”
Unsworth went on to say, “Yes, it’s not finished,” when asked if he may sue Musk for libel, or other legal reasons.
As of Monday, Musk had offered no actual evidence for his claim against Unsworth, and Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment from this news organization.
For some Musk fans, no matter what he says, his base of support could remain strong, like that of another leader who weaponizes Twitter for fighting many public battles.
“Musk has adopted an unhinged comment style from (President Donald) Trump that disgusts some investors and hurts shareholders’ confidence in his judgment as a leader,” said Eric Schiffer, CEO of private investment firm the Patriarch Organization. “But, it keeps him in the news, and part of his strategy is ubiquity in the media, despite negative sentiment, equals importance, which equals brand leadership for his personal brand, and by extension Tesla.”
But, in a U.S. business climate where the likes of John Schnatter — the founder of the Papa John’s pizza restaurant chain — was forced out of the company after using a racial slur on a company conference call, Musk’s comments have left some feeling uneasy.
“The comment on the British diver was uncalled for and reveals the nasty side of Musk’s winner-take-all mentality,” said Tim Bajarin, director of tech research firm Creative Strategies. “This was not a smart comment from Musk, and I hope he learns from it.”
