Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. takeover comments haven’t just riled the social-media company’s executives and staff. They have also frustrated some of the billionaire’s loyal Tesla Inc. backers. The electric-vehicle maker has lost roughly 30% of its value since April 1, as the will-he-or-won’t-he drama around Mr.
Musk’s investment in Twitter—and eventual $44 billion deal to take over the social-media company—has played out. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell around 15% in that time.
The episode has sparked concerns even among some fans of the Tesla chief executive that he might risk stretching himself too thin. Mr. Musk also runs rocket company SpaceX and helped start a tunneling enterprise and a neuroscience startup working on brain-implant technologies.
Now with Twitter, some Tesla supporters are concerned that he could lose focus. “I wish he would walk away,” said Gary Black, managing partner of the Future Fund LLC, which owns roughly $50 million worth of Tesla, according to FactSet. Mr. Black, a Tesla booster, said he views Twitter as a distraction that is likely to demand more of Mr. Musk’s time than the billionaire expects.
A close follower of Tesla recently tweeted at Mr. Musk and the Twitter CEO: “Elon, Twitter is an unnecessary distraction. Just focus on Tesla.” Mr. Musk has sought to quell such anxiety. “To be clear, I’m spending 5% (but actually) of my time on the Twitter acquisition. It ain’t rocket science!” he tweeted last week. “Tesla is on my mind 24/7.” Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.