Published 11:34 16 Dec 2024 GMT

Who knew that one tweet could prove to be so costly

Elon Musk made quite a costly social media mistake in May 2020, as one six-word post on Twitter caused Tesla’s stock price to fall over $14,000,000,000 almost instantly.

It’s no surprise to anyone that has followed Elon Musk’s antics on social media that the tech billionaire can be a bit loose with his words, whether that be spats with celebrities or outlandish ideas that might end up being easier said that done.

While he has had to face massive value drops in the two years following his purchase of Twitter, now X, this wasn’t the first time that his actions on the platform caused a price fall for one of his many companies.

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Tesla stock price is too high imo

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It was in May 2020 that a random six-word tweet caused Tesla’s stock price to drop by $14,000,000,000, and after knowing what it is you can’t exactly be surprised.

Musk tweeted the following: “Tesla stock price is too high imo.”

While Tesla stocks were trading well at $781.88 the night before Elon’s bizarre message, the Wall Street Journal reported that prices dropped more than 9% following his Friday morning tirade.

It certainly did what the tech mogul wanted, as the price that was deemed by him to be ‘too high’ did drop, but the issue is much larger than loss of value but instead over Musk’s breach of agreement.

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Following a situation where he was deemed to have acted fraudulently following claims on Twitter that he would make Tesla private, Musk had to agree to step down as chairman of Tesla and have all of his posts regarding the company checked before going live.

As you might imagine, upon being asked by the Wall Street Journal whether this six-word tweet was vetted by the company, Musk simply replied: “No.”

Musk’s words have left Tesla in hot water in the past (Christian Marquardt – Pool/Getty Images)

It’s then understandable that both Tesla and Musk faced major criticism and concern from key Tesla investors, as many were worried that further spontaneous messages from its CEO would continue to throw away their money.

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Like most things on the stock market though it’s a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and if anyone had been smart enough to hold on to their stocks the they’ll have been greatly rewarded, as the price has surged 1,513% in the last five years.

They have seen a particular boost following Musk’s key role in Donald Trump’s US election victory, which has seen him take up a new position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Many predict that regulation changes could favor both Tesla and Musk in the upcoming Republican term, which has caused a reignited wave of interest in the electric vehicle company.

Of course, they’re not just restricted to cars either, as their recently deployed Optimus robots are also proving to have a lot of interest – especially when you take into account their eerily human actions.

Featured Image Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Staff / Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor / Getty