Elon Musk, the nation’s prizewinner for colorful billionaire, got a piece of bad news on Tuesday, about Twitter—and on Wednesday he might get another, about Tesla.
Despite this, Tesla, where he is CEO and the largest shareholder (17%), had a decent day in the stock market on Tuesday. The stock rose 2.1% along with the overall market. The S&P 500 climbed almost 2.8%.
But Tesla stock is off by a third this year amid production woes, as pandemic-related lockdowns in Shanghai stalled production at the company’s most profitable plant. Unease about his pursuit of Twitter may be another factor.
In the latest episode of the saga surrounding Musk’s now rescinded bid to buy the social media platform, a Delaware Chancery Court judge on Tuesday granted Twitter a five-day trial slated for October. Twitter seeks to force Musk to buy the site for $44 billion.
Earnings estimates for Tesla’s second quarter have drooped by 20% to $1.85 per share, down from $2.30 a share. Projections for vehicles delivered during the June-ending quarter have fallen by 27%.