Why is it time for Elon Musk to leave Tesla

A prominent salesman who is suing Tesla and Elon Musk for manipulating his stock price said the company would be better off without Musk as CEO.

Andrew Left, the founder of Citron Research, said Tuesday morning to CNN's Julia Chatterley that it might be wise for Musk to have a more strategic or visionary role in You're here (TSLA). He said the company could call on someone else to handle day-to-day operations.

A few months ago, Mr. Left said it would have seemed like a "death for the company" because he thought Tesla would need someone else to handle it. But Musk has been courting controversy lately. Recently, Musk smoked marijuana during a video interview and accused a spelunker of rescuing a distressed football team.

Last week, Left filed a class action suit that accused Musk of securities fraud after he tweeted last August that he had "guaranteed funds" for a $ 420 buyout of Tesla . Musk has since abandoned the plan.

Left argued that the tweet was an attempt to "burn" the short sellers who bet against the company.

"Musk has had a long-standing public feud with short sellers and often uses his personal Twitter account to taunt and confront the skeptics of his company," Left said in the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Left conceded that his short position on Tesla was false until now. The stock, despite recent volatility, has soared in recent years.

"The rumors of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated and have often been mentioned," said Left.

But Mr. Left told Mr. Chatterley that he thought that in the end, Tesla would need more cash and that she will probably have to sell more shares to increase her financing.

This would be bad news for existing shareholders. Shares fell 2% Tuesday and are now down more than 20% last month.

CNNMoney (New York) Posted on September 11, 2018: 11:54