Investors are rattled by Tesla boss Elon Musk's twitter attacks on one of the heroes who helped rescue twelve boys and their football coach from a cave in Thailand.

The trouble came over the weekend, when Mr. Musk baselessly called diver Vernon Unsworth a "pedo" on Twitter and doubled down on the insult before eventually deleting the posts.  Unsworth, a Brit living in Thailand, was instrumental in putting together the international team of divers who brought the boys out and giving them guidance on getting through the cave based on his personal experience.  He's now considering suing Musk.

Mr. Unsworth had belittled Musk's idea of using a miniature submarine to bring the boys out of the cave, and suggested Musk was getting involved as a publicity stunt.  Musk denied that, and insisted that his sub would have worked even though it was not used.

While Musk has maintained twitter silence since the dust-up, investors who very much like what he's doing with electric cars and solar energy are disillusioned with the apparent petulance.

James Anderson is a partner at Baillie Gifford, Tesla's fourth-largest shareholder, and he is "frustrated" that Tesla's business "are being overshadowed and undermined by this saga".  Anderson said he would like to see "peace, quiet and execution" at the electric car company.

"Your behavior is fueling an unhelpful perception of your leadership - thin-skinned and short-tempered," wrote Gene Munster, one of Silicon Valley's most-important venture capitalists (VC) at Loop Ventures in an open letter to Musk "on behalf of investors who believe in you and your mission".

The letter continued, "Over the last six months, there have been too many examples of concerning behavior that is shaking investor confidence," referring to Musk's penchant for picking fights with critics, journalists, and regulators.

"Thankfully, the road to regaining investor confidence is well traveled.  It starts with an apology," Munster wrote. "Then, focus your message on your progress toward achieving Tesla's mission."