Most expensive troll ever? Elon Musk wipes billions off Tesla stock with one controversial tweet

And that’ the not the end of his troubles. His girlfriend is also mad at him.

After Friday night’ tweeting spree, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a LOT of explaining to do (REUTERS)

One tweet is all it took to wipe off billions of dollars from Tesla stocks. CEO Elon Musk tweeted that in his opinion, the stock price was too high. And then there was bloodbath.  

Tesla stock price is too high imo

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2020

Tesla stock stumbled more than 11% and its valuation reduced by nearly $9 billion after Musk's tweets. By noon, Wall Street time, Elon Musk had single-handedly wiped out $16 billion of his own company's value. Tesla's market valuation was worth around $141 billion before the tweet.

This is not the first time Musk has landed in a spot of hot water, or a pool, for controversial tweets. A tweet in August 2018 about Tesla "going private" at $420 a share cost him his role as Tesla chairman. It also got him into trouble with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) in September 2018. Musk and Tesla had to reach a settlement of fraud charges.

Terms of the deal with the SEC also required Tesla to oversee Musk's social-media communications. Musk is supposed to seek pre-approval if his tweets include anything regarding the company's securities, including his acquisition or disposition of shares, nonpublic legal or regulatory findings or decisions.

Following this Musk did take on the SEC again in a video interview where he said that he had no respect for them.  

However, Musk's bizarre Twitter behaviour on Friday left everyone a little stumped. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been tweeting a lot of controversial things about the Covid-19 pandemic. Lately, he has been demanding the lockdown in America be lifted.  Musk tweeted on Friday -

Now give people back their FREEDOM

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2020

This tweet came after he tweeted the whole American national anthem out one sentence at a time. In fact, the pinned tweet on his Twitter profile is -  

FREE AMERICA NOW

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2020

One user replied to Musk: "Are you doing it because you need the cash or is this to protest the world burning down?" Musk replied: "Don't need the cash. Devoting myself to Mars and Earth. Possession just weigh you down".

Musk also tweeted that he was going to sell off all his physical possessions, except there was "Just one stipulation on sale: I own Gene Wilder's old house. It cannot be torn down or lose any its soul", Musk added.

He then went on to mention that his girlfriend Grimes was mad at him. The couple are expecting a baby soon.