Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal Faces Backlash from Long-Term Tesla Investor

A major investor who has held a long-term stake in Tesla has reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

The complaint is that Musk gave other firms’ operations more priority than Tesla’s management, which hurt the company’s stock price.

According to the Washington Post on the 28th (local time), Ross Gerber, who has consistently invested in Tesla, criticized Musk on his official social media account, stating, “Musk is not fulfilling his duties at all. Tesla investors might as well consider the party over.”

Ross Gerber is the CEO of the investment firm Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management.

As of January 26, 2024, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management holds 398,199 shares of Tesla stock, with a market value of approximately $99.63 million.

Although this accounts for only about 0.37% of the total shares, it is known that the firm has consistently invested in Tesla since its early days, providing full support for Musk’s company operations.

This investor has now openly criticized Musk’s decision to acquire Twitter.

The Washington Post noted, “The disagreement with Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management reveals a snapshot of the current situation Musk is facing.”

Gerber explained to the Washington Post that concerns grew as Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion (approximately 58.8266 trillion won) in October 2022, combining personal funds and bank investments.

Subsequently, Musk’s unfavorable actions, such as massive layoffs at Twitter and making racially discriminatory remarks, raised questions about whether they had negatively impacted Tesla’s corporate value.

According to the Washington Post, investors who put money into the funds managed by Gerber are known to have suggested selling Tesla stocks.

Concerns among investors have grown as Musk recently told Tesla shareholders that he would need to secure 25% of Tesla’s stake.

Although it was based on an excuse to take decision-making authority to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology actively, Gerber even criticized it as “almost delusional.”

Gerber stated, “I am not an investor only in Tesla but also in X (formerly Twitter), and I have stood by Elon Musk every time he faced difficulties. Now, it seems that he needs a sense of reality.”

Besides Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, another Tesla investor, ValueEdge Advisors, is also known to have raised questions about Musk’s request.