It's no secret that financial markets can be rocked and socked by rumors and innuendo.  But a little truth can be just as devastating, as investors found out this week when Elon Musk of Tesla Motors fame sent out a tweet to clear the air, but wound up clearing more than AU$780 Million from Samsung SDI’s market capitalization.

The rumors indicated that Tesla was working with Samsung SDI on the batteries that would power the upcoming Tesla Model 3 electric car.  But Mr. Musk set the record straight by tweeting, "Would like to clarify that Tesla is working exclusively with Panasonic for Model 3 cells."  He also noted that Panasonic makes the batteries for the Tesla S and X models as well.

That's all if took to send massive, massive amounts of capital flowing.  Samsung SDI’s stock plunged 8 percent on Thursday morning in New York, losing roughly US$580 Million, or more than AU$780 Million.  In the same period, Panasonic added about US$800 Million, which is well over AU$1 Billion.

Tesla's cars have generated a lot of interest and hope for a cleaner future, but their price tag makes them unobtainable to the vast majorities of drivers.  The Model 3 is projected to have a much lower price tag, promising to extend the Tesla brand to more middle class consumers. 

Samsung SDI and its shareholders took it in the shorts because of some false rumors that turned out to be untrue.  But all is not lost.  Although Panasonic will continue to work with Tesla on electric car batteries, Musk later said there's a possibility that Tesla Energy may use Samsung battery technology for "energy storage products for home, commercial, and utility-scale use".