Twitter is becoming a nightmare for Tesla shareholders.

Elon Musk said during a Twitter staff meeting that he is selling Tesla (ticker: TSLA) stock to "save" Twitter, according to a report Thursday from the New York Times. Musk also warned employees in an email that Twitter's losses could be measured in the billions.

Twitter and Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. Musk didn't respond to a request for comment via Twitter.

Tesla investor and Future Fund Active ETF (FFND) co-founder Gary Black estimated follwing the Times report that losses could top $3 billion annually. Twitter "remains a dumpster fire," says Black.

Twitter, of course, is a separate business in a different industry. Its financial success and woes don't directly impact Tesla -- but it impacts the electric vehicle maker in a lot of indirect ways.

For starters, Musk's actions at Twitter have the potential to affect Tesla's brand image negatively. Twitter issues seem to already be having an impact on Tesla shares. The stock is down about 15% since Musk took over Twitter, as Tesla shareholders watch layoffs at Twitter and Musk announces various measures -- such as $8 monthly fees for verification -- to help turn the social media platform around.

That 15% decline includes Thursday's big 7.4% gain. Most stocks rallied as U.S. inflation data came in lower than expected. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose about 5.5% and 7.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 1,200 points.

Tesla stock sales by Musk also impact Tesla's share price and investor sentiment. Musk recently disclosed about $4 billion in stock sales. The reason wasn't immediately clear. It could have been the cash to pay off a bridge loan needed to close the Twitter transaction. Now it seems as if it is to fund Twitter's losses.

Even though Musk is the richest person on earth, an executive spending billions to prop a company is surprising and unprecedented.

It must feel like a bad dream for Tesla shareholders. At the beginning of 2022, Tesla was riding high after growing 2022 delivery volumes by more than 80%. Shares added about 50% in 2021 after rising more than 740% in 2019.

Now shares are down about 46% year-to-date, worse than the average drop for auto and auto parts stocks in the Russell 3000 Index, as Tesla investors wonder what will at Twitter happen next.

Tesla stock wasn't moving much in after hours trading following the New York Times report.