Elon Musk has been accused that he is not giving enough time to Tesla lately, which is expected from him as the CEO of the EV manufacturing company. The accusations against him have become even stronger over the last few months since he took over the role of CEO of Twitter, which he purchased a few months back. Some Tesla investors have even demanded that Musk should step down from his position and someone new should take over the role of CEO at the EV company. Facing steep criticism, the flamboyant billionaire has said that he has no plans not to be a part of the auto company, which holds the lion’s share in the global electric car market.

Also Read : Tesla shares feel the pain in worst year ever; 2023 may be almost as bad

In 2022, Tesla has lost roughly 70 per cent of its value since the stock hit an all-time high in November 2021. This slide marks a sharp reversal for the world’s most valuable car company. In fact, the deepening global economic uncertainty and rising competition around the world in the EV space have been prompting concern among Tesla investors that the auto company might need to sacrifice a chunk of its profit margin in an attempt to continue its growth. If we look at the trend, Tesla’s stock-price decline has outpaced the trend of the overall market, as well as many of its rivals also.

Musk’s antics have been accused by many as a strong reason behind this dramatic fall in the automaker’s share price this year. Interestingly, Tesla’s shares are heading for the worst year ever as Elon Musk focuses more on Twitter. The demand for Tesla electric cars has also weakened amid the rising competition worldwide. Another move of Musk that has drawn much criticism from Tesla investors is dumping his stock at the company. Musk has dumped a large chunk of his holdings at the EV company in 2022 alone. However, the Tesla CEO has announced that after the last stock dump, he has no more plans to sell more Tesla shares for another 18-24 months or not until around 2025.

Speaking about the slump in Tesla shares, Musk tried to cull the fears around it by saying that the EV company can handle any economic scenario, even very negative ones. “I think Tesla will weather an upcoming economic storm better than any company unless the company is making bread. If you are a ship in the storm, even if you have a great ship, you are still going to be hit. There is latency in the supply chain,” he said.

Musk also touched on where the automaker might build its next Gigafactory in a bid to strengthen its grip further on the global electric car market. He said the auto company is deploying capital at the fastest rate possible without being wasteful. “We are making investments and can’t say too much, but we are close to picking a location for the next Gigafactory. We are being careful and deliberate about that. We are coming into recession in a strong position,” he said.

First Published Date: 25 Dec 2022, 16:59 PM IST