Tesla investors are growing tired of Elon Musk's Twitter fiasco. And for good reason.
The 10 largest investors in the electric-vehicle maker's stock, including ETF giants Vanguard, BlackRock and Musk himself, lost nearly $133 billion since Twitter's board accepted Musk's buyout on April 25, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
It cost Musk the position as the richest person in the world. But he's not alone feeling the pain.
Tesla Stock Dropping Like A Rock
Tesla's value is down more than 52% since the Twitter buyout was approved on April 25, while the S&P 500 is only off 5.5%. And Tesla stock is off 29% since the deal closed on Oct. 27, much worse than the S&P 500's 6.6% gain in that time. Shares are down again Wednesday, by 3.4% to 155.38.
That's shredding a jaw-dropping amount of wealth for Tesla investors. The value of Tesla is down $339 billion from the Twitter deal's approval and $206 billion from the close.
Investors worry that Musk is so infatuated with Twitter, he's not minding Tesla.
Investors owning shares of Tesla, now down more than 50% this year, are vocally expressing displeasure. "There is no TSLA CEO today," Gary Black, managing partner of the Future Fund, which is down nearly $18 million on its Tesla stock since April, tweeted Monday, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
It's Not Just Costing Elon Musk
Musk is definitely suffering the most from the Tesla implosion. As the largest shareholder with 14.1% of the company, he's personally lost $47.9 billion from the time the Twitter deal closed.
But losses are spreading to Main Street, too, as the giant ETF and mutual fund companies are the next biggest owners. Vanguard, which is forecasting a recession next year, is the No. 2 largest holder of Tesla stock. It owns nearly 7% of the company. And due to that, its shareholders are down nearly $23 billion from the Twitter deal close.
What will Musk's infatuation with Twitter ultimately cost Tesla investors?
"This remains the quagmire for Musk as well as Tesla investors in what has been a period of pain for Tesla bulls in a general risk-off backdrop with the Musk's golden child stock under major pressure," said Wedbush's Dan Ives in a note to clients.
Biggest Tesla Losers Since Twitter
Losses based on value of current holdings from April 25, 2022, approval of Twitter sale
| Holder | Loss from Twitter deal approval (in billions) | % of Tesla owned |
|---|---|---|
| Elon Musk | $47.9 | 14.1% |
| Vanguard Group | 22.9 | 6.7 |
| BlackRock | 18.5 | 5.4 |
| State Street Global Advisors | 10.7 | 3.1 |
| Capital Research and Management | 10.5 | 3.0 |
| Geode Capital Management | 5.1 | 1.5 |
| T. Rowe Price | 5.1 | 1.4 |
| Ellison, Lawrence | 4.8 | 1.4 |
| FMR | 3.7 | 1.1 |
| Jennison Associates | 3.2 | 0.9 |
Sources: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz
