Tesla stock is plunging. Twitter may have caught this time.

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Last He refuses at

Tesla

Stocks deviated from the relevant market Trading patternsleaving investors wondering if something else is going on with the automaker’s stock.

Tesla stock (index: TSLA) fell 7% on Wednesday. As trading begins Thursday, shares are down more than 17% over the past week, a larger drop than the broader market. The

Nasdaq Composite

And the

1000 . Russell Growth Index

Both are down about 8% over the same period. Concerns about the crisis in Ukraine and the Federal Reserve’s move toward tighter monetary policy have weighed on the stock market.

But there appears to be something else worrying investors. CEO Elon Musk appears to have picked another fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk expresses his displeasure on Twitter, where he has more than 74 million followers.

On Tuesday, Musk responded to a Twitter post linked to an article that claimed the SEC had leaked information regarding its investigation of the CEO. Musk said, “This is just peeling the first layer of rotten onions. Stay tuned…”

Musk’s Twitter post came days after a lawyer representing him sent a letter to New York’s Southern District Judge Alison Nathan alleging that the Securities and Exchange Commission was “seeking retaliation against my clients for exercising their First Amendment rights.” The three-page letter, dated February 21, Reviewed by Baron.

Then, on Wednesday, Musk took to Twitter again, saying he didn’t start a fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but he will.finish it. Another post that suggested the Securities and Exchange Commission is colluding with hedge funds was also responded to with the wordexactly. “

The SEC declined to comment on the tweets. Tesla did not respond to Baron Comment request.

Investors don’t like distractions. The problems with Musk, Twitter, and the SEC are just those.

Tesla stock is down 8.2% in pre-market trading Thursday, trading at around $701 a share. futures contracts on

Standard & Poor’s 500

It fell 2.6% as markets fluctuated around the world in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]