Tesla Plunges, X Suffers Outages: Elon Musk's Bad Day Highlights Challenges Across His Empire

October 19, 2023 — It was a day that would not soon be forgotten for Elon Musk, billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of various high-profile companies, as shares of Tesla plunged and X (formerly Twitter) experienced across-the-board outages, underscoring the woes besetting his vast business empire.

Tesla Shares Take a Nosedive

Tesla, Musk's most valuable company and the electric vehicle (EV) giant, saw its shares plummet sharply on Thursday, dropping more than 9% in a single session. The decline followed the firm's third-quarter earnings report, which fell short of Wall Street estimates on revenue and profit.

Tesla's revenue for the period was 21.3billion,belowanalysts 22.1 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of 0.66fellshortoftheprojected 0.73. The company cited higher production costs, supply chain problems, and steep price cutting as significant drivers impacting its margins. Tesla's operating margin fell below to 7.6%, from 17.2% last year, to raise concerns that the company is unable to maintain profitability amid increasing competition in the EV market.

Investors were also worried about Tesla's slowing growth in key markets like China and Europe, as well as the delay in launching its highly anticipated Cybertruck. Musk did acknowledge the difficulties in the earnings call, stating, "We're going through a challenging time, but we're still focused on our long-term vision of making the world's transition to sustainable energy faster."

The drop in the stock wiped away billions of dollars in market cap, contributing to what has been a rough year for Tesla shares. The company's stock is down more than 20% for the year, trailing the general market

X Suffers Widespread Outages

At the same time, while Tesla's shares were tanking, Musk's social media site, X (formerly Twitter), was having issues as well. Customers around the world were complaining of worldwide outages, with some unable to use the platform or experiencing spectacular loading times for content. The glitches, beginning first thing Thursday morning, took a couple of hours, putting customers in a fury and wondering about the stability of the platform under Musk's leadership.

It is not the first time that X has faced technical problems since it was acquired by Musk in October 2022 for $44 billion. The platform has experienced numerous challenges, from laying off significant engineering staff, modification of its infrastructure, and introduction of new features like paid verification. Critics argue that Musk's constant reduction of expenses and radical modification of the platform has rendered it unreliable.

Musk acknowledged the outage on X, writing, "We're on it and working to fix things as fast as we can. Appreciate your patience." But the outage has added to concerns over the platform's ability to retain users and advertisers, many of whom have already been worried about Musk's erratic leadership style and the rise in misinformation on the platform.

A Bad Day for Musk's Empire

The two setbacks for X and Tesla highlight the enormous stress Musk is under as he deals with several high-risk ventures simultaneously. Besides Tesla and X, Musk is in charge of SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company, all of which require lots of attention and resources. For years, critics have wondered whether Musk is doing too much and stretching himself too thin, and Thursday's setbacks have only intensified those worries.

Tesla's share drop and X's outages also happen when Musk's own personal brand comes into focus. His controversial tweets, political scandal entanglement, and public arguments with his detractors have made him a divisive personality and maybe influencing the brand of his firms.

Despite the stumbles, Musk remains one of the most influential people in technology and business. Tesla continues to dominate the EV market, and SpaceX continues to expand the horizons of space travel. The events of Thursday, however, serve as a reminder that even the most successful entrepreneurs are human and can be wrong.

For Tesla, the focus will be on rebuilding investor confidence by resolving production challenges, improving margins, and delivering on its ambitious product roadmap. For X, the focus will be on stabilizing the platform, restoring trust with users and advertisers, and proving that it can be successful under Musk's stewardship.

As Musk navigates these tempestuous seas, one can be sure that the world is going to wait with bated breath to learn how he reacts to what

What's Next for Musk?

Despite the stumbles, Musk remains one of the most influential people in technology and business. Tesla continues to dominate the EV market, and SpaceX continues to expand the horizons of space travel. The events of Thursday, however, serve as a reminder that even the most successful entrepreneurs are human and can be wrong.

For Tesla, the focus will be on rebuilding investor confidence by resolving production challenges, improving margins, and delivering on its ambitious product roadmap. For X, the focus will be on stabilizing the platform, restoring trust with users and advertisers, and proving that it can be successful under Musk's stewardship.

As Musk navigates these tempestuous seas, one can be sure that the world is going to wait with bated breath to learn how he reacts to what was undoubtedly a not-so-good day for his kingdom.