Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is spiraling deeper into crisis as its stock takes a beating, dropping from a $1.7 trillion valuation to under $800 billion. The latest blow? A recall of 46,000 Cybertrucks due to faulty exterior panels that could detach while driving. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk's entanglement with Donald Trump's administration is fueling a global backlash, with 500 protests planned against Tesla later this month. Longtime Tesla bull Dan Ives is sounding the alarm, calling this a brand tornado crisis moment and warning that Musk's political distractions are becoming a massive overhang for the company's stock.

But Tesla's problems don't stop at branding. A fresh wave of financial scrutiny is raising eyebrows, with analysts pointing to a $1.4 billion gap in Tesla's capital expendituresmoney that was spent but seemingly missing from the company's balance sheet. Tesla also raised $6 billion in new debt last year despite sitting on a $37 billion cash pile, a move that has some experts questioning whether the company is managing its finances as aggressively as its marketing. Red flags like these have historically signaled deeper issues, and investors are rightfully asking: where's the money going?

All eyes are now on Musk. Ives insists that for Tesla to avoid long-term damage, Musk needs to publicly commit to balancing his role at Tesla with his political ventures. At the same time, Tesla needs a clear game plan for launching lower-cost vehicles and rolling out its long-promised full self-driving tech. If Musk doesn't pivot quickly, Tesla risks losing not just investor confidence but also its once-unshakable dominance in the EV market.