Shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc. tumbled about 9 percent Friday after CEO Elon Musk conceded in a newspaper interview that job stress may be getting the best of him.
Tesla shares closed at $305.50, their lowest level since Aug. 1, as analysts and business professors questioned whether the company’s board should grant Musk a leave or even replace him with a more seasoned CEO. The decline lopped $5.4 billion off Tesla’s market value.
Musk admitted to The New York Times that the past year has been the most “difficult and painful” of his career. The newspaper reported that during an hourlong telephone interview on Thursday, Musk alternated between laughter and tears, acknowledging that he was working up to 120 hours a week and sometimes takes Ambien to get to sleep.
Tesla’s board showed no sign of taking any action Friday.
