• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

1

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Elon Musk

The 7 Elon Musk tweets that have sent Tesla shares on a rollercoaster ride

By
Peter Vercoe
Peter Vercoe
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Peter Vercoe
Peter Vercoe
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 9, 2021, 3:57 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Even by the standards of Elon Musk—who said in 2019 his Twitter feed had pretty much descended into nonsense—last weekend’s poll on whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla Inc. stock was outlandish. 

After a clear majority (58%) of 3.5 million Twitter users voted yes, Tesla shares tumbled the most in eight months in New York trading Monday, falling as much as 7.3%. The stake would be valued at about $21 billion based on the 170.5 million Tesla shares he holds. 

Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock.

Do you support this?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021

Whether he goes through with it or not, the attention-grabbing move was just the latest in a long history of Musk using Twitter and his legions of fans on the platform to stoke interest in Tesla and his other ventures, sometimes pushing the envelope with tweets that veer from tongue-in-cheek to deliberately outrageous.

It also wasn’t the first time his Twitter musings have moved Tesla’s shares, with the infamous “funding secured” tweet drawing the ire of authorities.

That resulted in the 50-year-old agreeing in 2018 to get approval from a Tesla attorney prior to communicating material information to investors as part of a settlement with U.S. securities regulators. It wasn’t clear whether that official previewed Musk’s Twitter poll.

Here are six other times Musk has moved the market with his tweets:

1. Musk was at it just last week, casting doubt on Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s deal to buy 100,000 Teslas for its rental-car fleet and downplaying the $4.2 billion agreement. Tesla’s stock dropped 3% the following day. 

You’re welcome!

If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.

Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers.

Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2021

It wasn’t the first time Musk had questioned the market’s reaction. On Oct. 25, he tweeted that the change in Tesla’s valuation — the shares jumped 12% — was “strange” because he said the company faces problems with production, not demand.

Strange that moved valuation, as Tesla is very much a production ramp problem, not a demand problem

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2021

2. In May last year, Musk unleashed a tweet storm in which he said he was selling almost all his possessions and won’t own a house, and voiced the unusual opinion for a CEO that his company’s stock (then trading at a split-adjusted $156) was too high. The shares promptly slumped 10%. However, the slide was short-lived, with all the losses recovered over the next three days.

Tesla stock price is too high imo

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2020

3. In February 2019, Musk corrected a prediction for how many cars Tesla would make that year, just hours after tweeting that annual production would reach about 500,000 vehicles. The electric-car pioneer said he intended to tweet that Tesla expects to be making cars at an annual rate of about 500,000 by the end of 2019.

Meant to say annualized production rate at end of 2019 probably around 500k, ie 10k cars/week. Deliveries for year still estimated to be about 400k.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2019

In response, the stock fell 3.7%.

4. Arguably Musk’s most infamous tweet dropped in August 2018, sparking weeks of fevered speculation about his intention to take Tesla private. The shares jumped 11%, before erasing those gains in following days as doubt mounted about his ability to pull off the deal. 

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

In the end, it all appeared to be a rather obtuse joke—April 20, or 4/20 ($420, get it), is a popular day amongst cannabis aficionados for celebrating marijuana culture. 

Musk ended up paying a $20 million fine to settle fraud charges and had to step down as chairman for three years. Tesla also paid a $20 million penalty. Musk was unrepentant, later tweeting that the fine was “worth it” and continuing to take potshots at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

As it turns out, it would have been the steal of a lifetime. The “offer” valued Tesla at $82 billion, a fraction of the $1.17 trillion market cap it now commands.

5. Amid the frenzied speculation about the take-private offer, Musk tweeted that he’d pulled in the big guns from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and renowned Silicon Valley buyout firm Silver Lake Management LLC as advisors.

I’m excited to work with Silver Lake and Goldman Sachs as financial advisors, plus Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Munger, Tolles & Olson as legal advisors, on the proposal to take Tesla private

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 14, 2018

Still, that did little to silence the doubters, and the shares continued their downward trajectory, going on a four-day, 15% slide.

6. An April Fools’ joke that fell flat, Musk’s tweet that Tesla has gone “completely and totally bankrupt” came following a run of bad news for the automaker, including production shortfalls, regulatory scrutiny over its driver-assistance system Autopilot and a credit rating downgrade further into junk by Moody’s Investors Service.

Tesla Goes Bankrupt
Palo Alto, California, April 1, 2018 — Despite intense efforts to raise money, including a last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can't believe it.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2018

All that combined to send the stock down as much as 8.1%.

And of course, there’s also the influence Musk wields in crypto markets, sending the price of Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu surging and plunging with his musings and memes. 

Gamestonk!! https://t.co/RZtkDzAewJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2021

More must-read business news and analysis from Fortune:

  • From Delta to Southwest, the airlines in the best—and worst—shape going into a chaotic holiday season
  • How a risky bet on the Shiba Inu coin made this warehouse manager a millionaire
  • Patagonia doesn’t use the word ‘sustainable.’ Here’s why
  • Will monthly child tax credit payments continue in 2022? Their future rests on Biden’s Build Back Better bill
  • ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have a food crisis’: The energy crunch has made fertilizer too expensive to produce, says Yara CEO

Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning.

About the Authors
By Peter Vercoe
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Getting past the pilot: Why so many AI test projects have trouble scaling
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Getting past the pilot: Why so many AI test projects have trouble scaling
By Alexei OreskovicJune 24, 2026
8 hours ago
US says chemical maker Chemours will pay $450M in penalties and relief programs to three states to settle ‘forever chemicals’ case
EnvironmentEnvironment
US says chemical maker Chemours will pay $450M in penalties and relief programs to three states to settle ‘forever chemicals’ case
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago
A Viking ship named Havhingsten af Glendalough - the Sea Stallion of Glendalough -, the world's largest replica of a Viking warship, sets out 01 JUly 2007 from the Viking Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, on a voyage to Dublin in Ireland, where it is scheduled to arrive 14 August.
EuropeScience
1,000-year-old massive textile factory unearthed in Denmark—and it belonged to the Vikings
By James Brooks and The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago
‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
AIRobots
‘Godmother of AI’ and tech entrepreneurs draw investors by pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ saying AI has to read the room, not just books
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago
Trump’s Iran war provoked the Senate enough to get it to symbolically vote to curb his war powers for the first time
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump’s Iran war provoked the Senate enough to get it to symbolically vote to curb his war powers for the first time
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
North AmericaMedia
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
24 hours ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
24 hours ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
16 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
18 hours ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.