Shares of Tesla took a deep dive as the stock plummeted roughly 7% when its top executives headed for the exits after viewing founder and CEO Elon Musk smoking marijuana and sipping whiskey on the podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
ETFs with heavy weightings in Tesla stock were mostly down, such as the VanEck Vectors Global Alt Energy ETF (NYSEArca: GEX)–down 0.94%, ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (NYSEArca: ARKQ)–down 0.22% and the First Trust NASDAQ Cln Edge GrnEngyETF (NASDAQ: QCLN)–down 0.61% as of 11:00 a.m. ET.
Musk’s behavior on the podcast is a culmination of what has been tumultuous times for the electric carmaker founder, which started when he first sent a tweet that he was considering taking the company private at a price of $420 a share, citing that it was “the best path forward.” The decision to privatize Tesla halted trading of the company’s shares for 92 minutes, leaving Tesla investors in a panic.
Related: Elon Musk: Tesla Going Private is ‘Best Path Forward’
Not long thereafter, Musk reneged on the decision after reports surfaced that a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and tech giant Apple were potential suitors to purchase Tesla. Late Thursday, Musk’s behavior on Rogan’s podcast sparked rumors that his recreational drug might be out of control.
Today, the company reported that its chief accounting officer, Dave Morton, submitted his resignation as of Tuesday as a result of the public scrutiny the company faced in the past month.