Elon Musk is using "diversionary moves" to distract investors from Tesla disappointments, management expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told CNBC on Tuesday.

"There's something happening here, and there's a shell game that Elon Musk has going on," Sonnenfeld said. The "shell game" accusation refers to a sleight of hand swindle, often seen on city streets for money, in which a player must follow and guess where an object lands as a dealer passes it under overturned cups or shells.

Musk often points to new product ventures — such as autonomous taxis or submarines — to keep attention away from Tesla's "demand saga, departure issues" and "debt issues," said Sonnenfeld, a senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management.

Tesla did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Sonnenfeld's remarks on "Squawk Box."

The electric auto maker is set to release second-quarter production numbers any day and quarterly earnings later this summer. In the first quarter, Tesla disappointed by delivering 63,000 vehicles compared with the expected 76,000.

Shares of Tesla have soared more than 25% since the beginning of June. However, the stock was still off about 32% for all of 2019 based on Monday's close of $227 per share.