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Tesla stock has crashed in recent months, down 55% from its mid-December high.
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Investors are concerned about CEO Elon Musk's time commitment to the company.
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"It's become clear he's now spending more time on DOGE than anything else," one analyst said.
As Tesla's stock price crashes, frustrated investors are yearning for their CEO back.
As you may have heard, Elon Musk has instead been in Washington, DC, overseeing a cost-cutting government overhaul. As he's worked to scrap entire agencies and lay off thousands, the company's stock has slipped. Shares have been down each of the past seven weeks that Musk has been in Washington.
The cumulative damage is stunning. At Monday lows — amid a 4% sell-off for the tech-heavy Nasdaq — Tesla stock plunged 15%, its biggest single-day drop since September 2020.
Tesla stock has plummeted 55% from a mid-December record high and is down more than 40% year to date.
Much of the angst among Tesla investors stems from concerns that Musk doesn't appear to be committing enough time to the company in his CEO role — at least compared to his prior level of involvement.
Musk, who famously slept on the floor of Tesla's factories during hard times, has reportedly been sleeping on the floor of his DOGE government office, just steps from the White House. In an interview with Fox Business on Monday afternoon, Musk said he's running his various businesses with "great difficulty" as he juggles those responsibilities with his DOGE initiative.
In addition to leading SpaceX, X, xAI, and Neuralink, Musk is also an avid gamer and the father of more than 10 kids.
Another fundamental issue dragging on Tesla — plummeting vehicle sales in locations like Europe and China — and investors haven't had a lot to be excited about.
Tesla investors aren't thrilled
The retail stock-trading platform StockTwits can be a gauge of investor dissatisfaction with Musk's non-Tesla activities.
A recent (unscientific) poll on the site asked, "Is Musk's White House focus hurting Tesla?" About 60% of respondents said "Yes - Tesla needs his focus," while 25% said no, citing media hype for fueling the narrative, and the remaining 15% blamed non-Musk forces.
Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, said his firm senses investor frustration.
"We think shareholders have legitimate concerns about Elon Musk being spread too thin, and it's become clear he's now spending more time on DOGE than anything else," he told BI.