But Tesla's troubles, though levered to Musk, may be deeper than Musk's distractions, such as politics, gaming, and colonizing Mars. A record fourth quarter delivery report in January seemed to indicate all was well with Tesla, but it doesn't tell the full story.

Tesla’s troubles go far beyond CEO Elon Musk’s recent dust-up with President Donald Trump, who accused the former “first buddy” of going “completely ‘off the rails’” in a social media slap fight over the weekend.