Forget Twitter: Elon Musk has his hands full keeping Tesla on the road

The firm is doing well, but it will have perform amazingly to merit its position as the world's most valuable carmaker

Spare a brief thought for Elon Musk's bankers and lawyers. One week he is posting earnest polls about freedom of speech on Twitter, and the next he is spending billions of dollars on a major stake in the social media site, before attempting an all-cash take-private deal complete with by-now-compulsory stoner meme. (And possibly - no, let's be honest, probably - sticking two fingers up to US regulators at the same time.) Just another fortnight in the life of the world's richest man.

Musk's all-or-nothing ultimatum has made for box-office corporate drama, and nervous times in Twitter's boardroom. But social media executives may not be the only ones feeling queasy: Tesla shareholders are also watching closely. Shares in Musk's electric car company dropped by 3% on Thursday.