Reminder: Your Quirky, Charismatic CEO is a Double-Edged Sword

News of CEO Elon Musk being charged with fraud by the SEC is sending shares of Tesla down hard this morning, off by 11% as I write this. 

While it remains to be seen just how harshly Musk is actually punished, we traders ought to be far more concerned about the notion of getting involved with TSLA in any way, shape, or form as long as the volatile Musk is associated with the firm.

For a while now, we have cautioned Members regularly in our premium videos that trading TSLA was likely not worth the risk--A tweet from Musk could just as easily send shares of the stock squeezing 20% higher as it could, well, wind up with him being charged with fraud by the SEC. 

To draw a sports betting analogy, if TSLA were, say, a football game we were considering betting on complete with a multitude of injuries, inclement weather, and other distractions for both teams, it would be best to simply lay off the again. Thus, we have been adamant about largely staying away and even ignoring TSLA.

And that will be the case as long as Musk is still in the limelight. Is he a charismatic, original thinker? On some level, yes. Is he your long-term CEO? After this latest charge, it is tough to say yes with certainty or anything close to it.

As a result, we know the market tends to despite any form of uncertainty--Bad news is typically better than a long period of uncertainty. Hence, TSLA is decidedly hands-off, going forward, with its major $270 support level now in grave danger of being breached more decisively.

Elsewhere, BlackBerry is popping nicely off earnings but has much more work to do in its long-term turnaround. The firm sputtered over the summer, and I probably need to see it back over $12 to take it more seriously this autumn.