Not defending Musk, but investors and shareholders don’t abandon him because he has delivered huge returns to them through Tesla stock. He is always too optimistic (maybe intentionally) about the timelines, but ends up generating money in the end.
Plus, he is super rich and people want to be close to big money - could lead to many benefits through networking and opportunities.
Does he end up generating money in the end though? The only way to say that definitively is if Tesla were at some point in the future to shut up shop and return a balance to the shareholders many multiples of what they bought the stock for.
Until that happens the plates are still spinning and could go either way.
Plus, he is super rich and people want to be close to big money - could lead to many benefits through networking and opportunities.