Should This Man Be Allowed on Social Media?
The massive strides he has made in automobiles, space travel, and personal flamethrowers show the undeniable intelligence that Elon Musk has, but when this intelligence is left unchecked, the consequences can be tremendous. The first time Musk realized this was when he smoked marijuana on camera for “The Joe Rogan Podcast”. Viewers and stockholders alike agreed that he should not have done it, and the numbers proved that it was not good for the company. Tesla stock dropped nine percent after this event, making everyone wonder who is allowing him to make these types of appearances. When one is in a position like Musk, where they are the CEO of multiple billion dollar companies, they need to be careful with what they post, as a joke that is taken the wrong way can be devastating for the company. For example, he tweeted about considering taking Tesla’s stock private in a mere 53 character message–a decision that companies usually take hundreds of pages to explain. This caused NASDAQ to halt trading on the company for most of the day, and made many lawyers wonder if what he did was even legal. In the tweet, Musk said that he might take the company private once the stock hit $420. Typically, investment bankers and a committee of Tesla directors would decide upon a number to take the company private at. Since Musk had no basis for this number, it caused people to speculate how he came up with the number, and the most widely believed theory is also not in favor of the company. Due to his sense of humor and history with the drug, many believe that he was referencing April 20th (4/20), as it is a day that many people smoke marijuana on. Though Elon Musk’s internet presence has made him popular among teenagers and in pop culture, the question needs to be asked of if his decisions are overall beneficial for the company, or if his control over his social media accounts need to be limited.
Works Cited
Coffey, Brendan. “The Extravagant, Excellent, Erratic Ethos of Elon Musk.” Medium, Medium, 2 Oct. 2018, medium.com/@coffeybc/the-extravagant-excellent-erratic-ethos-of-elon-musk-e1c9c34c7f83.
Eisenstein, Paul A. “Tesla Stock Plummets after Elon Musk Smokes Weed on Live Show and Two Execs Quit in One Day.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 7 Sept. 2018, http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tesla-stock-plummets-after-elon-musk-smokes-weed-live-show-n907476.
James. “Did Elon Musk Violate Securities Laws With Tweet About Taking Tesla Private?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Aug. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/business/elon-musk-tesla-sec.html.
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