As soon as the ink was dry on Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Fisker (NYSE:FSR) CEO Henrik Fisker deactivated his Twitter account and moved over to Meta Platforms’ (NASDAQ:FB) Instagram. You ought to be happy about this if you own FSR stock.
If there’s one thing investors know about Elon Musk, it’s that he’s not afraid to push his weight around while speaking his mind. If I were the CEO of other electric vehicle (EV) makers, I’d think twice about remaining on Twitter. He’s bound to tilt the ball in his favor while appearing to stand for free speech. Billionaires rarely spend $44 billion out of the kindness of their hearts.
There’s no way to know if the move by Fisker was merely a publicity stunt or a case of voting with his feet. However, it did attract Fortune’s attention, and the publication rarely gets into the weeds on such issues.
Fortune mentioned Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) 2008 lawsuit claiming Fisker and one other person stole its design ideas. Fisker claimed victory after the two parties went to arbitration. The judge sided with his predecessor company, Fisker Automotive, citing “overwhelming” evidence against Tesla’s claims.
After his departure, here’s what Fisker said about Musk and Twitter:
“I believe 100% in free speech. But I do not want my free speech to be actively managed or controlled by a competitor. And I do not want a competitor to determine how my followers experience Fisker as we grow our company. #Fisker #Love #EV.”
There’s no question it hasn’t been easy to stay long in FSR stock. It’s down 30% in the past month and almost 40% year-to-date. While I haven’t written about Fisker in a long time, I continue to believe its Ocean sport utility vehicle (SUV) has a legitimate shot at being a big seller in the EV game.
And heck, Fisker’s been tasked with converting an Ocean SUV into the first electric Popemobile. Musk can’t take that away from the company.
I’ve long been a fan of Elon Musk’s. However, I don’t think a privately-owned Twitter is a good idea, especially when the owner is someone as mercurial as the Tesla CEO. More EV makers ought to take a stand, whatever happens on this front. Fisker has made the right call, and that is good news for FSR stock.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
