Tesla got torched by Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter

Tesla and its stock price have played supporting roles in the Elon Musk-Twitter drama, which took a new turn yesterday when Musk attempted to bail on his takeover of the social media company.

Why it matters: Tesla’s shareholders — even some of Musk’s biggest fans — got hurt.

Behind the scenes: Musk has historically leaned into his significant ownership in Tesla as proof of his deep commitment to the company’s success. But he had to sell $8.5 billion worth of shares to help finance his Twitter deal.

• Tesla shares have lost nearly a quarter of their value since Musk first announced his intention to acquire Twitter, shedding nearly $275 billion in market cap.
• Some of that has been part of the broader market pullback, but some arguably has been caused by Musk's sale, and questions about his focus on Tesla.

The bottom line: Musk’s entanglement with Twitter both cost Tesla shareholders and allowed him to sell a hefty chunk at some of its highest prices ever.