--- title: "Tesla Investor Calls Elon Musk a “Little Baby” Who Was “Almost in Tears”" description: "Tesla investor Kevin Pafrath called a recent Tesla earnings call \"terrible\" and accused Elon Musk of \"turning into a little baby.\"" date: "2023-10-24" modified: "2023-10-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-investor-elon-musk-baby-tears" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Investor Calls Elon Musk a “Little Baby” Who Was “Almost in Tears” ![Tesla investor Kevin Pafrath called a recent Tesla earnings call "terrible" and accused Elon Musk of "turning into a little baby."]() *\Image: STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Widdle Baby Tesla shares [dropped more than 15 percent]() over the last week, with CEO Elon Musk griping over everything from rising interest rates to the company's own Cybertruck during a third-quarter earnings call. Things got so grim, in fact, that Tesla investor and financial analyst Kevin Paffrath took aim at the mercurial CEO in a recent [interview with *Yahoo Finance*](), calling the call "terrible" and accusing Musk of "turning into a little baby." "I mean, he was almost in tears," he said. "It showed a complete lack of leadership. Tesla is a leadership-less company right now." Paffrath's comments highlight growing frustrations among Tesla investors, who've been complaining about the company being led by a distracted CEO. "For a leader to cry about the economy rather than funneling that and coming up with a plan is pathetic," he added. ## Trumping Out Earnings fell short of expectations in the third quarter, with [Musk admitting]() that the company dug its "own grave" with the long-awaited Cybertruck, [widely expected]() to cost quite a bit more than Musk's initial promise of $40,000 four years ago. And that's not to mention [concerns over less-than-stellar fit and finish](). It's also no secret that Musk has had a lot on his plate, balancing his time between Tesla, SpaceX, and X-formerly-Twitter — though according to Paffrath, that's no excuse to cower away from his responsibilities as CEO. "Look, he's got a lot of things going on, legal battles, custody battles for his kids now," he told *Yahoo Finance*, "but it doesn't justify acting like Trump on Twitter stonewalling the SEC or the European Union, and quite frankly turning into a little baby on the earnings call." Nonetheless, the financial analyst remained at least somewhat optimistic. "These are great products and the people at Tesla should be cheered for this," Paffrath told *Yahoo Finance*. "But we need to know the light is at the end of the tunnel rather than hearing a complaining CEO who's not actually providing that path." **More on Tesla:** *[Tesla Admits the DOJ Is Investigating Its Vehicles' Driving Range]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()