Tesla shares fall after Musk's spat with British diver

Shares of Tesla Inc fell 2.75per cent on Monday after CEO Elon Musk directed abuseon Twitter at one of the British cave divers involved in therescue of 12 Thai children last week.

A number of analysts and investors, requesting anonymity,told Reuters that Musk's comments are adding to their concernsthat his public statements are distracting him from Tesla's mainbusiness of producing electric cars. The stock sell-off knockedalmost $2 billion US off the company's market value.

Tesla shares closed at $310.10 US before rising 1.9 per cent inafter-hours trading.

James Anderson, a partner at Tesla's fourth-largestshareholder, asset manager Baillie Gifford, called the weekend'sevents "a regrettable instance" and said he had reiterated tothe company the need for "peace and execution" of its corebusiness.

The billionaire entrepreneur's spat with British diverVernon Unsworth started last week, after rescue teams rejectedMusk's offer of a mini-submarine created by his rocket companySpaceX to help rescue a 12-member soccer team and their coachtrapped inside a flooded cave in the northern province of ChiangRai.

"He can stick his submarine where it hurts," CNN reportedUnsworth as saying. "It just has absolutely no chance ofworking."

Musk shot back on Sunday on Twitter: "We will make one [video]of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 noproblemo. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." The tweetwas later deleted.

Tesla spokespeople and lawyers did not respond to emails andphone calls from Reuters requesting comment on Musk's commentson Twitter.

Musk gave no evidence for alleging Unsworth was a pedophile.Unsworth said he would consider taking legal action against Muskover the remarks, in comments filmed in Chiang Rai on Monday byAustralia's 9 News. Reuters could not reach Unsworth for comment.

Unsworth's wife told Reuters on Monday that her husband wasreturning to Britain on July 19, where he will speak to lawyers.

Last week, Narongsak Osottanakorn, the leader of the rescueoperation in Thailand, rejected Musk's mini-submarine as notsuitable for the task. Musk responded on Twitter on July 10,calling Osottanakorn "not the subject matter expert."

Musk also regularly uses Twitter to criticize media reportson Tesla, which has struggled to meet its own production targetsfor its Model 3 sedan, which is seen as key to the company'sprofitability.