Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to smoke marijuana briefly on camera during a podcast appearance, fueling concern among critics who say his behavior is becoming increasingly concerning and erratic. Separately, Tesla revealed that its chief accounting officer has resigned after less than a month on the job, raising further concerns about the company's leadership stability. Concerned investors drove Tesla's stock price down 5 percent to $265.22 as of 12:12 p.m. on Friday. In a wide-ranging interview with comedian Joe Rogan that was livestreamed, Musk took a puff from what the popular podcast host described as "marijuana inside of a tobacco." "You ever had that?" Rogan asked in the podcast late Thursday in the Pacific time zone. "Yeah, I think I tried one once," Musk replied. Rogan found Musk's response dubious. "You probably can't because of stockholders, right?" "I mean, it's legal right?" Musk said. Recreational marijuana use is legal under California law, but federal law still considers it a crime. "Totally legal," Rogan responded, handing Musk the joint. "How does that work? Do people get upset at you if you do certain things?" Musk said nothing but puffed. The exchange, which came near the end of an interview that lasted more than 2½ hours, illustrates Musk's generally carefree approach. Critics say that his behavior has become reckless and that Musk should focus on running Tesla, which is facing intense pressure to speed up production of electric vehicles. They say his questionable public persona culminated in his dubious claim on Twitter last month that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating that assertion, and Musk quickly backtracked on the plan. Tesla Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton resigned Tuesday, according to a Tesla public filing Friday morning. "Since I joined Tesla on August 6th, the level of public attention placed on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations," Morton said in a statement released by Tesla. "As a result, this caused me to reconsider my future. I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission, and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting.” Tesla has long faced frequent executive turnover as the company faces intense pressure to succeed. Musk has defended the pressure-cooker atmosphere as necessary to preserve the company. Supporters say Musk is a brilliant innovator and leader who has succeeded specifically because of his willingness to buck convention in an industry that's stuck in its ways. Tesla representatives were not immediately available for comment Friday morning. Shares of Tesla shares have declined more than $100 after the go-private dalliance. Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.<doc-sep>Billionaire Elon Musk took viewers by surprise late Thursday when he smoked marijuana and drank whiskey during a live interview. The Tesla chief executive was speaking with comedian Joe Rogan, an advocate of legalizing weed, on his live internet show when he was handed the joint. A spokesperson for Tesla was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. "Is that a joint? Or is it a cigar?" Musk asked Rogan before being told it was a cigarette containing marijuana, which is legal in California, and tobacco. Asked whether he had tried it before, the entrepreneur said: "Yeah, I think I tried one once." "You probably can't because of stockholders," Rogan said, to which Musk retorted: "I mean it's legal, right?" The two had been engaged in a lengthy discussion on a number of issues including humanity, artificial intelligence, Tesla and China. Elsewhere in the podcast, which ran for roughly 2 hours and 30 minutes, Musk is handed a Samurai sword by Rogan, which he observes with keen interest. Musk also brought into the studio one of his tunneling firm's flamethrowers — which sold out mere days after they went on sale at the start of the year. He is seen wielding it in an Instagram post by Rogan. Rogan's podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" is one of the most popular in the U.S. Within five hours, his interview live stream with Musk on YouTube had attracted almost 450,000 viewers, and 3.2 million people are subscribed to his YouTube channel. Musk's Twitter wars Musk addressed his tweeting habits on the podcast, debating with Rogan whether his direct engagement and battles with people on the platform was a "good idea." "I think it's on balance more good than bad but there's definitely some bad so hopefully the good outweighs the bad," he said. Speaking about how he deals with negative comments directed at him on the social network, the businessman said he mostly ignores them. He said: "The vast number of negative comments, the vast majority of them I just ignore them. Every now and again I get drawn in, it's not good. I make some mistakes." Musk, who founded X.com, a precursor to PayPal, recently got into hot water when he accused a British man involved in the mission to rescue a Thai boys' soccer team trapped in a cave of being a pedophile. The executive called Vernon Unsworth a "pedo guy" on Twitter after the cave diver called his idea to save the trapped boys with a miniature submarine a "PR stunt." Musk subsequently apologized, but has sunk further into the controversy, having made two more attacks on the cave explorer. He most recently called Unsworth a "child rapist." The Briton is preparing a civil complaint for libel against Musk, his attorney said. Tesla shares fall The news may be of interest to shareholders, who recently took the company's stock price through a roller-coaster ride in August after Musk said he wanted to take Tesla private — only to then row back on that position. Musk insisted he was not on weed at the time during an extensive interview with The New York Times. The executive shocked investors when he said he was considering taking the firm off the stock market at $420-a-share — 420 being a popular code term for cannabis. "It seemed like better karma at $420 than at $419," he told the Times. "But I was not on weed, to be clear. Weed is not helpful for productivity. There's a reason for the word 'stoned.' You just sit there like a stone on weed." Traders are concerned the company may still need a capital injection to help with its cash burn problems. Tesla shares were down 1.2 percent Friday in premarket trade. WATCH: Tesla and Elon Musk's wild August — in nine minutes<doc-sep>
Elon Musk smokes marijuana with Joe Rogan's during a taping of Rogan's podcast show. Source: YouTube Shares of Tesla plunged as much as 9 percent Friday after news of a pair of C-suite executive resignations and a bizarre video showing CEO Elon Musk smoking pot on a podcast, capping a tumultuous month since Musk launched the company into controversy with a take-private tweet. The stock opened Friday's session at $260.10 before paring losses slightly. Shares were roughly 7 percent down after the first hour of trading, closing down 6 percent. It extends a painful week for the automaker. As of Friday's close, the stock lost more than 11 percent on the week. Late Thursday, Musk smoked marijuana and sipped whiskey during an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast — fueling concerns about his recreational drug use. Friday morning, the company revealed its chief accounting officer, Dave Morton, had resigned as of Tuesday, citing intense public attention. He had been at the company for only one month. "Since I joined Tesla on August 6, the level of public attention placed on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations," Morton said in a statement. "As a result, this caused me to reconsider my future." The company's HR chief, Gaby Toledano, is also leaving the company, Bloomberg reported Friday. Toledano had been on leave since before the electric car maker was rocked by messy take-private conversations and potential SEC probes, Bloomberg previously reported, and she will not return from leave. A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately return request for comment regarding Toledano's standing at the company. Friday is also the last day at the company for Sarah O'Brien, Tesla's vice president of communications, per a planned departure. Earlier this week Musk resurfaced a conflict with a British cave explorer who assisted in rescuing a boy's soccer team from a Thai cave earlier this year. Musk called cave diver Vernon Unsworth a "child rapist" in an email to BuzzFeed News, intensifying previous attacks in which Musk called Unsworth a "pedo guy" and tweeted that it was "strange" that Unsworth had not sued him for the July comments. All of that comes exactly one month after Musk shot off a controversial tweet saying he was "considering taking Tesla private." Musk floated a take-private price of $420 — roughly a 20 percent upside from the stock's levels at the time — and claimed he had the "funding secured." Company updates and news reports in the weeks that followed poked holes in Musk's proposal, though, and Tesla formally called off the take-private talks in late August. Friday's plunge puts Tesla stock more than 30 percent off its all-time intraday high of $389.61. The stock has lost more than 20 percent of its value since market close on Aug. 7. —CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report. WATCH: Tesla and Elon Musk's wild August — in nine minutes