Tesla investors tell Elon Musk to stop wasting time on Twitter as his erratic tweets prompt them to sell shares

• Elon Musk's tweets about politics and memes have dented some investors' confidence in him.
• Tesla shareholders spoke to Bloomberg about their concerns that Musk has become too erratic.
• But one said he's better off making mistakes at Twitter rather than Tesla.

Elon Musk's controversial tweets about politics and memes have prompted some Tesla investors to sell their shares, Bloomberg reported.

The world's richest person – who briefly lost the title this week – often tweets late at night. At 2:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday, he shared a clip from the 1984 David Lynch film "Dune" in an apparent reference to his ownership of multiple companies.

He often uses Twitter to weigh in on politics, too, like calling The New York Times' union walkout "Woke v Woke" at 1:44 a.m. on Thursday.

And then there's the confusing memes, such as trolling with the "Pepe the Frog" character – a meme that has served as a symbol for the alt-right.

This has become too much for investors such as Trevor Goodwin, who held Tesla stock for five years before losing confidence in Musk over his tweets.

The business analyst from Kansas City, Missouri told Bloomberg that he recently sold Tesla shares worth $30,000.

Goodwin and his wife both drive Teslas, and used to praise the company to friends. He now says that Musk's erratic behavior is too much to deal with, and only kept a handful of Tesla shares.

"It's almost like he's abandoned us in favor of his new mission," Goodwin told Bloomberg.

Despite Tesla's share price falling 56% this year to close at $174 on Wednesday, the stock has still risen by more than 700% over the past five years after trading at $21 on December 8, 2017.

Earl Banning, a psychologist from Anchorage, Alaska, has been a Tesla fan and investor since 2015.

He told Bloomberg that he's defended Musk online like many of the billionaire's acolytes, but the latest episode "has lost a lot of us."

Banning doesn't plan to sell his shares, however, but wishes Musk would be less political and provocative.

"It's been so unnecessary," he told the outlet. "You've got a great car company — just stop it."

Other investors, such as Phoenix, Arizona-based lawyer Jonathan Batchelor, are more concerned about who's actually running Tesla.

Musk says he's sleeping at Twitter's headquarters to get more work done, but is now under investigation by San Francisco building inspectors for turning offices into bedrooms.

Batchelor wants reassurances while Musk is working elsewhere, but told Bloomberg it could be helpful the Chief Twit "learns lessons in dealing with that organization rather than making mistakes with Tesla."

Twitter and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.