2 Tesla executives quit after Musk interview
The turmoil at Tesla reached a fever pitch, as the news that two senior executives are leaving Elon Musk’s electric-car maker emerged just hours after he smoked marijuana during an hours-long interview streamed live online.
Musk appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” overnight. Two hours into the podcast, which can be seen on YouTube, Musk inhales from what the host says is a marijuana-tobacco joint, which Rogan notes is legal in California.
Rogan passes the joint to Musk, who also takes a sip of whiskey.
After smoking, Musk looks at his phone and laughs, telling Rogan he was getting texts from friends asking why he was smoking weed during the interview.
Later Musk says he doesn’t notice any effect from the joint, which he claims he rarely smokes.
As the video gained traction, more news hit: Early Friday, the Palo Alto, Calif., company announced that Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton resigned after a month on the job, citing public attention and the fast pace of the post.
The company disclosed the departure in a regulatory filing.
“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,” the company quoted Morton as saying in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
“As a result, this caused me to reconsider my future. I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission, and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting,” Morton was quoted as saying.
Tesla’s stock plunged, then extended declines after Gabrielle Toledano, the head of human resources on a leave of absence, told Bloomberg News that she won’t rejoin the company.