What's Going On With Tesla Stock Monday?

Tesla Inc TSLA shares are trading lower Monday. The selling pressure on the stock appears to be due to concerns related to alleged illegal drug use of CEO Elon Musk and other board members.

What Happened: According to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the situation, Musk has normalized drug use among directors and board members at his companies.

The report indicates that several current and former directors at Tesla and SpaceX have attended parties and gone on exotic vacations with Musk in which illegal drugs were involved. Some of the current and former directors reportedly have knowledge of Musk’s illegal drug use, but haven’t made it public.

The Wall Street Journal claims that the directors and board members at Tesla and other Musk-led companies may be unable to properly oversee Musk and other executives because they have close ties to Musk and have profited from their relationships with the billionaire.

The news comes about a week after a Delaware judge struck down Musk’s 2018 compensation plan that would have awarded the Tesla CEO $55.8 billion for performance-based targets, noting that the board members who helped put the plan in place had close financial and social relationships with Musk and were beholden to him.

The Wall Street Journal report claims that Musk has built a culture of peer pressure that encourages friends and business associates to use drugs with him. The report singles out Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, among others.

It’s also worth noting that Piper Sandler cut its 2024 delivery estimates for Tesla on Monday from 2.18 million to 1.93 million and warned that continued price cuts could weigh on margins in the near term. The analyst firm remains bullish on the EV maker’s multi-year prospects.

Check This Out: Tesla Driver Pulled Over For Wearing Apple Vision Pro While Driving

TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares are already down more than 28% since the start of the year. The stock was down 3.60% at $181.15 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

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