The 2018 tweet, in which Mr. Musk claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private, initially sent the automaker’s shares soaring. But they sank when it became clear that no such deal had been reached.
He asked whether he should sell 10 percent of his stock, and Twitter voters said yes. Stock options he was granted in 2012 are “a ticking tax time bomb,” one expert said.
Tuesday’s losses put Tesla’s stock down more than 11 percent this week.
Hertz had said that it would convert more than 20 percent of its rental fleet to Tesla’s cars, a deal that helped propel Tesla’s stock value beyond $1 trillion for the first time.
The order, which is expected to be delivered by the end of next year, is a sign of the growing momentum in the shift toward electric cars.
A Harris County sheriff’s constable said in April that evidence at the scene of the accident suggested that no one was driving the car when it crashed.
The automaker also reported a big jump in revenue, to $13.8 billion from $8.8 billion a year ago, as sales of the Model Y continue to rise.
Amid a shortage of new cars, many buyers have been forced to kick the tires of overlooked models and brands.
In a letter, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminded Tesla that federal law requires automakers to initiate recalls if they find defects that pose a safety risk.
While its C.E.O., Elon Musk, and the state’s conservative lawmakers share libertarian sensibilities, they differ greatly on climate change and renewable energy.
