Elon Musk had a bad week at Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter

who has had a particularly eventful year Elon MuskIt was definitely a tough week.

TeslaU.S. stock, which has lost nearly half its value since peaking in November, dropped nearly 6% over the past week, as investors continued to sell off their technical holdings.

Tesla has internal matters that aren’t helping. This week, they tied the knot with safety issues with the company’s advanced driver-assistance systems.

Musk’s other big company, SpaceX, fired a group of employees who circulated an internal letter that allegedly characterized the CEO and founder as “distraction and embarrassment”. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday handed SpaceX’s Starship rocket program a long to-do list ahead of its launch license in Boca Chica, Texas.

is then Twitter, Musk agreed to buy the social media company in April for $44 billion, but has since publicly trashed it, raising all kinds of concerns about whether the deal will actually pay off. On Thursday, Musk spoke to Twitter employees for the first time in a video address that was widely panned based on messages shown on an internal chat board.

Here’s what happened in Musk City this week.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday Tesla vehicles accounted for nearly 70% of crashes involving advanced driver-assistance systems since last June. Data provided by the US Safety Agency said that of the 392 accidents cited in the report, 273 involved electric cars, which included data from 11 automakers.

Nevertheless, NHTSA stated that the data is not a proper context and is meant only as a guide to identify potential fault trends.

“I would advise caution before attempting to draw conclusions based only on the data we are releasing,” NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff said during a media event. “Indeed, the data alone may raise more questions than it answers.”

When Musk announced plans to cut 10% of Tesla’s workforce in June, the CEO said he had “super bad feeling“About the economy. For consumers, those concerns are turning into sticker shock.

Tesla Increase prices of all car models in the US, The auto industry continues to grapple with supply chain issues, inflation and economic uncertainty as of this week.

The company raised the price of its Model Y long-range version from $62,990 to $65,990 and increased the performance model by $2,000 to $69,990, according to its website. Electrek said The price of the Model S Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive increased from about $5,000 to $104,990. Model X Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Long Range increased to $6,000.

Tesla previously delayed deliveries of some long-distance models in the US by up to a month.

FAA on Monday Made an environmental decision that resulted in good and bad news for Musk’s SpaceXAnd the giant Starship Rocket Company is developing in Texas.

The regulator released a list of more than 75 environmental mitigation tasks that the company will have to complete before proceeding with Starship flight tests. Requirements include limits on noise levels and how often SpaceX can close a public highway near the facility.

Following the FAA’s decision, Musk said the company will have a Starship prototype rocket “ready to fly” by July, The company is aiming to reach orbit with the vehicle for the first time. But it does require a launch license from the FAA first, and the regulator’s required mitigation amount for a significant lift before the company can request it.

The good news for SpaceX is that the FAA has completed its evaluation, and there is no need for a more in-depth review.

According to media reports, unidentified SpaceX employees wrote and circulated a letter that was critical of Musk and his public behavior, describing him as a “frequent source of distraction and embarrassment”. CNBC reported Friday that at least five employees involved in the letter were fired. As a result.

SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, in a company-wide email obtained by CNBC, claimed the letter and process to the signatories harassed “many” employees who they said felt “uncomfortable, intimidated and intimidated.”

“We have much more important work to accomplish and there is no need for such hyperactivity,” Shotwell wrote. “I’m sorry for this distraction. Please focus on the SpaceX mission, and use your time at work to do your best work.”

Musk’s all-hands meeting with Twitter employees on Thursday Sounded like an attempt by the potential future boss to establish a sense of trust and transparency with the people working for him.

But feedback on Slack after the meeting indicated that employees were still left with questions and concerns, according to one person who saw the messages but asked not to be named because they were intended to be private.

While the former CEO jack dorsey Promised to give options to employees work remotely permanentlyMusk has taken a very different approach with his companies, most recently demanding that Tesla and SpaceX employees be in office at least 40 hours a week,

Musk said on the call that he couldn’t be as strict with Twitter employees, because developing software can be more easily controlled remotely while car manufacturing requires a physical presence.

But his reply did not seem to pacify the concerns. According to an acquaintance, his comments made some Twitter employees fear for their jobs. Addressing concerns about potential layoffs, Musk said Twitter needs to be in a healthy financial position, but “anyone who is a significant contributor has nothing to worry about,” according to the person.

In response, Twitter employees shared messages and memes at the end of the meeting, asking how to brand themselves as extraordinary.

—CNBC’s Michael Welland contributed to this report.

watch: Musk tells Twitter employees he wants at least one billion daily users