Tesla shares fall as senior executives resign, Elon Musk smokes marijuana during an interview

Shares of Tesla Inc fell on Friday after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was filmed smoking marijuana on a comedian’s podcast, hours before the company announced that a senior executive was resigning, reported Fortune.

Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton gave his notice on Tuesday saying he was resigning, less than a month into the job, Bloomberg reported, citing the company’s filing, on Friday. Tesla’s stock plunged and then extended declines after Gabrielle Toledano, the head of human resources who has been on a leave of absence, told Bloomberg that she won’t be rejoining the company.

Shares of the electric carmaker tumbled more than 6% on Friday to $263.24 (approximately Rs 19,000) after a tumultuous August, during which Musk proposed and then abruptly pulled the plug on taking the company private.

Morton and Toledano’s departures come after the US Securities and Exchange Commission opened an inquiry into Musk’s aborted privatisation plan and they join other senior executives who have left Tesla, reported Reuters.

“Since I joined Tesla on August 6th, the level of public attention placed on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations,” Morton said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. “As a result, this caused me to reconsider my future.” He said he has no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting.

On Thursday, Musk was filmed drinking alcohol, briefly smoking marijuana and wielding a Samurai sword during a live web show with comedian Joe Rogan. “I’m not a regular smoker of weed,” Musk said. “I don’t actually notice any effect ... I don’t find that it is very good for productivity.”

Tesla has now named a new president of automotive operations, promoting eight-year Tesla employee and former Daimler truck executive Jerome Guillen into the role overseeing all automotive operations and reporting to Musk.