He sure seems driven by creativity, not money, making him a very unusual businessman. That alone is inspiring. I'm rooting for him.
14
1. A CEO who understands nitty gritty details. Not like the rest - give anodyne statements and focus on how to increase value of personal options for a well planned bailout. Take a look at Citi and GE. They are creators of risk aversion ( WallStreet hates it) and masters of marginal improvements. Focus all your efforts on short-term financial engineering and ignore long-term critical but costly investments. Future is another CEOs problem.
2. A trillion dollar revenue industry said it can't be done. Now the entire industry is pretending to make electric cars. Wait until you see what they make.
3. Just think. Oil becomes unimportant. US can cut its defense spending by half.
4. Insurance costs will plummet, healthcare cost savings can be enormous due to autonomous driving.
5. Renewal energy plus electric car can seriously mitigate global warming.
No, this will not be allowed to happen. The nexus against Tesla is massive and powerful. Pressure SEC to hang Elon over a tweet. Of course, the same agency that was a spectator to a trillion dollar financial meltdown and sent no exec to prison. Shorts have deep connections, SEC included. They know how to succeed. Remember, they hyped mortgage CDOs and shorted them at the same time.
Ask yourself - why are the Saudis buying tesla shares? Ask yourself again - does Wallstreet care if they can make a fast buck? Ask yourself one more time - what is Tesla without Elon? Ask yourself one last time - who gains when Tesla fails?
13
If I were a short-seller, I would set my sights on Elon Musk until he drives himself fully off the rails. And then I’d laugh endlessly about how he did it all to himself.
How, exactly, does a ‘genius’ of this caliber find himself in a position where he is spreading baseless accusations of paedophilia, while simultaneously claiming to be sacrificing himself to save his company?
3
Watch the TV show American Greed, and ask yourself if Musk will be appearing there soon.
1
My husband is a highly sought after leader in the field of supply chain logistics and operations. He was recruited by Space X (and offered a VP role) and then by Tesla (he didn't bother going in for the interview). After a few minutes into an interview with Musk, my husband knew that working for the guy would be a miserable experience. He did not accept the job offer when it came.
The problem with people like Musk (or Trump) is that their egos and temperaments chase away the most talented professionals who want a collaborative, respectful, professional work environment.
Full disclosure - I own a Tesla and absolutely love it. I'm cheering for Musk or the Tesla Board to get their act together!
7
Each day before I drive my beautiful 3 week old Model 3 ( delivered months before my expected delivery date) I discover another column questioning the health of Elon, the future of Tesla, and the issues encountered ramping up production of the Model 3.
A truly disruptive ground breaking vehicle with incredible brand new technology produced with innovative production lines - and the focus of these stories is on the personal life of Tesla’s founder?
If as I suspect , my experience is not unique and is simply not being reported, I believe that as the Model 3 continues to roll out and is seen as the incredible success it is, the concerns over the sleeping habits of the man responsible for that success will shortly be put to bed.
6
The fact that there is such a thing as too much automation was discovered by the car industry in the 1980s. That Musk "re-discovered" it now suggests that he is wasting much of time on re-inventing the wheel.
7
Yet another article about Musk. What seems clear is that he is keen on having the focus kept on himself, not his companies or their actual performance. Visionaries at some point need to achieve, not simply seek attention. Great celebrity, horrid CEO.
4
As the old phrase goes, 'It's lonely at the top.' Especially if you're a genius. Give the guy a break since he won't even take one for himself. If he fails, so be it and it certainly won't be for lack of trying. If he fails, he'll simply reinvent himself again. When he fails, that'll be the time for schadenfreude from his critics.
2
Can Americans stop worshipping Elon Musk, please? Remember how he called the British diver who rescued the trapped Thai soccer team a "pedophile" and had a hissy fit when the Thai leader of the rescue said Musk's submarine wouldn't work?
He may be a visionary, but he needs to learn how to be a respectful human being too.
9
It’s all going to blow. Even if they can produce the car in volume it won’t sell at its price point.
In addition, the tax credits disappear. The average American can only afford a $23,000 car.
Get real.
7
Considering the vast variety of comments from different areas of evaluation of Musk it's difficult to place the actual man. One must take into consideration that the entire civilization is plunging into very troubling states where major threats from the environment , from the huge technological powers that science has placed in the hands of political and social leaders who seem neither to understand the consequences of inadequate agendas not the gathering dangers of inaction on the basis of static traditional viewpoints. Musk seems to be somewhat like a very intelligent and aware mouse trying to attack a hungry and vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex. The bulk of humanity seems trying to ignore the existence of the dinosaur. Musk is, at least, trying.
3
I wish NYT team of reporters who went to interview Musk had cited some of these figures to his face when he was whining about how he was spending 120hours in factory. The guy is a relentless self-promoter who jets around the world seeking publicity and gets agitated (and unhinged) when someone calls his bluff.
I am still waiting for the tweet he didn’t send - Bluff called. Funding disappeared. SEC beckons.
10
I’m still a fan of the man and his companies. He is disrupting multiple industries (for the better of our planet). Keep going Elon and get some rest when you can!
12
I wish Musk would invent something to make journalists stop writing about him.
28
@Dan Exactly. This is how Trump was created.
9
It would be interesting to see the NYT do an expose of its coverage of Elon Musk. Ever since he caught their motoring correspondent lying about the Model S they have distinguished themselves by some of the most biased coverage that I have ever seen. When they had their computer expert write a review of the Chevrolet Bolt that concluded that Tesla was doomed because Chevrolet was first to market (ignoring the minor problem that the Koreans who provided the motors and batteries said that they could not make more than 50k per year) I wondered how they could justify their obvious animus. When they had three ledes on successive days about the dangers of autonomous driving when one driver was killed in an accident caused by his negligence despite Musk pointing out that 40k lives had been saved by enhanced autopilot I felt that they had outdone themselves.
10
@ian stuart Criticism is not animus; describing a more cost effective competitor is not animus.
How does he prove that 40K lives were saved by autopilot? I thought the burden of proof was on the person making the claim? Are you suggesting that a very significant percentage of Tesla drivers would be dead without semiautomous driving aids? Doesn't that suggest something horrifically wrong with their cars or drivers?
3
“The reason Elon seems to attract drama is that he is so transparent, so open, in a way that can come back to bite him,” said Kimbal Musk, Mr. Musk’s younger brother and a Tesla board member. “He doesn’t know how to do it differently. It’s just who he is.”
Easy. Make a real plan before spouting off on Twitter.
For someone who's supposedly so smart, he's pretty dumb.
16
"At night, he sometimes sleeps under his desk."
The man is supposedly a genius and a millionaire.
Install a bedroom at the office, genius.
10
Why so much constant coverage of Musk? Enough already!
16
"In an interview this month with The New York Times, Mr. Musk said he was physically exhausted and emotionally drained, causing some to question his fitness for the job." He is drained the same way as a marathoner is drained after a race. It was obvious to him and everyone at the beginning of the last quarter, the goal he set was nearly impossible considering the kind of problems they were having. He has met the goal. Now people want to question his fitness. I would question the logic behind this thinking. He is exhausted the same way a marathoner would be exhausted after the race. Would anyone have believed him if he had said it was no sweat? Would you question a marathoners fitness to run because (s)he is exhausted just after the race?
13
Elon Musk is the modern version of a superhero: brilliant, rich, larger-than-life, and at the same time, flawed and clearly human. To his detractors I say only, “who else with his level of ability has so dedicated themselves to the advancement of mankind, rather than simply financial gain or some pointless app?” I hope he succeeds, because his success is our success. If he fails, at least he went down trying. Smart men abound. Brilliance is rare. Visionaries are precious.
27
But what has he actually accomplished?
People "go down trying" in their millions.
5
What has he actually accomplished??
PayPal
SpaceX
The Tesla S
Solar City
Come on...
12
How has Paypal helped the starving and enslaved billion humans on the planet Earth?
How has Tesla helped the starving and enslaved billion humans on the planet Earth?
How has Space X heiped the starving, the diseased, the 100 million Malaria sufferers?
How has SolarCity helped ad nauseum?
3
In the case of Elon Musk, the term “visionary” is a tremendous understatement. Like most true geniuses, he is at once imperfect and invaluable.
35
How many stories are really of interest about this minor figure in American business? He represents nothing worth considering.
10
I think Musk evokes in many men a fantasy of a real life super hero. He's powerful! He's rich! He's a genius! He builds cool cars and rockets! He's had six kids, and has gone on to date young attractive women! He's attractive in an attainable way.
And I think he's what many men assume all women want: wealthy, powerful, smart. But he's not what many women actually want, which is a a partner who's available and an available father. Not someone who works 120 hours a week and takes Ambien to sleep and calls people pedophiles.
But this is just my theory...
19
It has merit.
6
If they haven’t already, those long on Tesla should spread their risk after reading this article. Steve Jobs notwithstanding, no one person can singlehandedly run a manufacturing concern in the cutthroat, low margin, highly regulated world of auto production, marketing, sales and service.
8
Like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk is a transformational force, one with not just superhuman drive, but an engineers mind for understanding not just what stuff does, but how stuff works.
Like Jobs, Musk has certain personality flaws. It seems like these kinds of traits can accompany such extreme intelligence. He is almost hardwired to say exactly what's on his mind. Certainly, many find that disturbing, but that kind of transparency can also be refreshing.
In the end, Elon is helping to address global and essential problems, including a future based on sustainable transportation and sustainable energy. I'm not sure why more people don't applaud him for that, especially given that the country is currently being driven by a climate denying psychopath who seems intent on hitting the back button on energy. We need more Musks. No, he's not perfect and he's very much human. But he's also helping to transform industries. Just look at the initiatives under way be the likes of MB, VW, BMW, Volvo, and others. Believe me, you wouldn't see them investing like they are if Tesla wasn't leading the way.
52
Huh? What the heck has he done? He’s a bad reality-show character.
9
@JP Just the entire electric car industry. How many electric cars were being sold annually prior to Tesla? Nearly zero. And how many traditional auto manufacturers have decided to add electric cars to their lineup in the last two years? Nearly all of them. It's not a coincidence. They're responding to a market that Elon Musk and Tesla created.
4
Ponzi. Madoff. Musk. Is he a master self-promoter who can’t deliver on his grandiose and manic lies? Is he a textbook narcissist (rules don’t apply to him, even securities fraud)? Is he a con man? Will his money hemorrhaging fake company default their loans, and become worthless? Is he the wonderboy genius or just another con man? Do you smell Theranos ?
12
@Cynic
This is a perfectly reasonable comment. From someone who does not understand what a Ponzi scheme is, and who does not understand what Madoff did.
16
@GMooG
LOL good comment GMoog. So true.
2
It is not Elon Musk who makes a rocket land on a barge but scores of bright, disciplined, well educated engineers and scientists who make that happen. Yes, he might be the one charting the vision and coming up with grand challenges but some discipline is a must not the eviscerate the company and its people on whims. On a personal level, few would accept that time of personality in an operating room, or a cockpit of a commercial plane...
7
@JR
Well educated engineers and scientists are a dime a dozen. Vision makes the difference. Every time.
17
@GMooG There's an army of engineers and scientists doing the heavy lifting that undergrads these companies and technologies. Thank you for blithely dismissing our work to instead give the credit to a spoiled man child
7
I don’t think good engineers are a dime a dozen. And motivating us is important or we move on to something better. Elon walks a fine line between inspiration and micromanagement and may not be getting the best out of his team. However visionary you are, mass production ain’t a one-man show!
4
In the universe of public companies, the risk-taking founder is often shown the door by boards and shareholders who want to preserve their income, their stability, their market value. This is sort of a process of rot that’s understandable, but doesn’t allow for great progress. When the product is not so much breakthrough innovation as simple gamble, and I think the autos qualify, shareholders do not shout encouragement for anyone risking it all. They turn on people like Musk, and he knows it.
Yes, competition, especially from China, short-selling parasites, and gutless shareholders are arrayed against this guy. It is more formidable a problem than just fixing production glitches, but the latter is all that’s under his control. Maddening.
That said, I think I won’t shed a tear if it all falls in. Not like when Polaroid shafted Edwin Land.
4
Haven't there been enough column inches devoted to wealth-hoarding narcissists?
16
@Ed Watters Yes but not to their downfall.
5
I am driving a Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. I get 40 MPG's. That's good enough. If everyone drove a hybrid OPEC would be swimming in oil.
I never suffer from anxiety when I run low on fuel. My buddy drove from Philly to Manhattan to attend my kid's wedding. He stopped on the Turnpike in each direction to volt-up. Who needs that?
Tesla should have been made with a swappable battery. When you run low on volts you'd drive into a service station, they'd swap your depleted battery for a fully charged one and you're on your way.
DeLorean.
Bricklin.
Tucker.
Hudson.
Rambler.
DeSoto.
Packard.
Studebaker.
Edsel.
Tesla?
3
Actually the swappable battery pack has made it through development, at least once, as has non-contact inductive charging, charging from road elements, and all sorts of interesting hybrids. In a sense, the Tesla car is pretty much established engineering, established battery technology, and initially, even someone else’s body design. The innovation seems to be taking the gamble to initiate production and withstand the huge losses. And bet that you don’t get out-competed by companies or countries with deeper pockets.
And bet that the the normal greedy workings of the stock market somehow don’t apply. Technical prowess doesn’t always win out.
9
@MIKEinNYC
The swappable battery concept has already failed, for the same reasons you criticize electric cars (not enough stations to provide critical mass. It was tried by a company called A Better Place.
2
A genius in a world of intellectual weaklings. While they patter about drooling over their money and politics, he's staring at the sky, asking "why?" and "how?" I fully expect him to fail as the disease of normal people eats him alive.
17
@Kevin: To be fair, normal people aren't forcing him to work 120 hours a week; they're not forcing him to take Ambien; and they're not asking him to build unwanted mini-subs that disrupt the rescue plans of other engineers. He's doing this to himself.
23
An older version of the little boy with extreme hyperactivity, after having another sugar fix. Clueless and uncontrollable. The type of people that I avoid at all costs, I wouldn't work for him at ANY salary. Seriously.
6
My morgue. Extremely quiet.
4
*what was that noise?!?*
2
A mad genius on a mission to self-destruct.
SEC can save Tesla and save Elon's life by barring him from holding office in a publicly traded company.
I hope no kid looks to Elon as a role model.
12
The Model 3 isn’t going to save Tesla. The problem with Tesla -and today’s electric cars - is the same problem with electric cars 150 years ago; it’s the battery, stupid!
3
Your view is dated....
I just got a Model 3...the improvements in battery technology from what’s in my five year old Nissan Leaf are absolutely amazing, in all operational parameters.
I charge the car twice a week using rooftop solar panels and never worry about battery range.
The car is cool, quiet, zero emission - not to mention cat quick and a blast to drive.
And it’s only going to get better....
61
Disappointing, really, to find this kind of "doubting" in the New York Times.
History - is entirely against you, and on the side of Elon Musk. "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - A. Einstein.
I would add "Great spirits have always had to suffer the incessant nibbling of lame ducks." You don't understand what he's thinking? There should be no surprise there.
66
@Greenpa Well said!
3
So is he swallowing amphetamines by the 55gallon drum or what?
8
After reading the article I have the image of typical Tesla employee, wearing a t shirt, slapping his forehead crying out “Doh!” whenever Mr. Musk suggests a needed solution. You have to fly out your billionaire CEO on a Gulfstream to tell you to reprogram a malfunctioning machine? No wonder the CEO sleeps at the factory.
6
Michael, when workers are frightened enough, suggesting an obvious fix becomes impossible. Add in a CEO or high level supervisor whose shtick is to grab the levers and push the buttons just out of ego, and you get a paralyzed factory. Doesn’t happen a lot, because professional managers have been educated to avoid exactly this behavior, but it can be seen in small companies where the boss does actually know many of the jobs better than the workers. Seen it, done it.
14
The NY TIMES seems obsessed with Elon Musk. Despite the fascination of some with him, there are many that find this man and his ilk tiresome. There are scores of other innovators, engineers with less overblown levels of self-regard that have done more to promote and execute renewable energy technologies. We are tired of having to be assaulted with these men in headlines, who like Trump, require the world to expend vast quantities of energy on them and their disruptive existence. Save it for People Magazine.
20
Equating Musk with Trump is like comparing Mozart to Milli Vanilli.
2
There is a tenuous connection between rapper Banks and the lines from T. S. Elliott quoted by Mr Musk. The Scottish author Ian M. Banks wrote two well-regarded science fiction books called “Consider Phlebas” and “Look to Windward”. They are very violent yet fascinating. Nobody knows what Mr Musk had in mind but maybe that connection made sense to him when he wrote his cryptic tweet...
2
A man's got to know his limitations...
Not my words but quite relevant.
5
What type of coffee does he drink in the morning? Espresso? Cold brew? With milk and sugar or a different sweetener? Or is he a tea person? If so, we need the exact details.
What brand of sleeping bag? What fill? Rated to what temp?
What would y’all write about if there was no Elon?
8
Old news here by someone who can write what others already have. OBTW the fraud twitter case was dismissed today, corporate leadership changes all the time (look at others) and the short sellers will get what they deserve and yes I own a Model 3. Lots of poor information about it in the media. I took delivery in May...no gripes...a fabulous machine. Musk needs a bit of a rest then he should press. Tesla will auger in without Elon. GO ELON GO!
2
@Charlie
"OBTW the fraud twitter case was dismissed today..."
Actually no, it was not.
3
Can we please stop referring to Musk as a "genius" and "brilliant" by default? I'm not a genius myself, which is why I'm a bit puzzled about what it is that he actually DOES at Tesla during these 120 hours work weeks. Seems to have plenty of time to tweet, wage a dumb war against short sellers, and call people "pedos".
6
It seems a lot of people (mostly men?) have almost a cult-like awe of Musk. 'm not impressed. He may be a genius but his antics during the Thai cave rescue were entirely off-putting.
If he wanted to help (sincerely wanted to help), he would have asked: "Do you want my help? And, if so, HOW can I help?" Instead he barged into delicate operations, made assumptions about what was needed, then tried to impose his solution on others. than criticized people ("pedophile") who weren't grateful. Ugh. Not a fan of this man.
12
Someone should introduce this guy to Melatonin. I get the feeling that his life wouldn't be so stressful if he spent a few more hours sleeping on some memory foam, instead of underneath the desk in his office.
"Realizing they would not make it to Antarctica, the group laid new plans...they took a day trip to Easter Island to visit the mysterious statues left by an ancient civilization...they discussed aliens...and how Easter Island...could be viewed as a cautionary tale."
So, self-awareness is not Elon Musk's strong suit, I take it?
4
I own Tesla stock because I believe in this man and his vision, but he needs to step back and allow himself to have a life.
7
If Elon was as smart as he thought he was, he wouldn't have to work 120 hour weeks--he would build up a smart and capable team around him and delegate effectively. Instead, he is narcissistic to the point where he doesn't think anyone is as talented or capable as he is. He's made his bed [under his desk], and now he must lie in it [or not, because he can't delegate].
16
I frankly don't care about Mr. Musk's successes or failures. He has no other option than to be human. Too much coverage by the paper of record. Way too much. I am waiting for the Business section to answer the question: how can the markets, the finance business and the vast corporate rip-off world continue to flourish while the corruption coming from Washington is at epic levels? What does that mean?
6
I can't wait to take delivery of my model 3. Thanks Elon.
28
The financial news is obsessed with Elon. Not Tesla, they hate Tesla, but they are obsessed with Elon and his life. He made billions, so they have to worship him, but he doesn't have the same need of greed that they assume must be necessary for success.
Tesla will make over 350K electric vehicles over the next year. Their factories are built and they will pay them off quickly. They will turn a profit next quarter. That is the real story here. But business guys are concerned with Elon and his mental health, or his lifestyle. It becomes very apparent that the business media is there to protect old industries. Business media people are just shills that can be bought for a price. They are not real journalists.
24
So how is it that most things we buy we pay taxes on? But buyers of stocks do not pay taxes. It means capitalists can play games with a company's stocks that would not be profitable if they had to pay to play. One more way capitalists have tilted the game in their favor.
3
This is noise.
We're regular people, a family of four and a dog. We love our Tesla Model 3. Easy and fun to drive, has great range and it has been reliable for use, beautifully and comfortably designed. And the bonus, we get to charge it in our driveway, using 100% renewable energy from our local utility.
We love that our batteries were manufactured in Nevada, that it was designed and manufactured locally, in Fremont, California, USA by a company named Tesla.
91
@awakenow
Most electricity transmitted by utilities is generated by coal or gas. How is the electricity that you get "100% renewable"?
2
@GMooG Washington is about 80% renewable, most in the nation, but 2nd to California in quantity, I don't find it hard to believe a PUD in CA can provide 100% renewable.
2
@APS
Alameda Municipal Power in the City of Alameda, California. Here is the information:
"AMP offers all Alamedans the opportunity to be 100% green-powered by purchasing affordable, local renewable energy through Alameda Green, our voluntary green power program.
When you enroll your home or business in Alameda Green, you match up to 100 percent of your monthly electricity use with clean, renewable energy from wind projects in the western United States and solar projects right here in California."
https://www.alamedamp.com/alameda-green
3
I predicted Mr. Musk's demise about a year ago on SA, manic downfall and all, including the still to come prediction that Mary Barra or some other WS approved CEO buy-out/takeover of Tesla is to come. I saw the writing on the wall, even if Sorkin and Stewart couldn't. INC magazine caught it. So too did the shorts (not all boys, btw, shame on you Elon). Goldman and Morgan can work it out, but for Tesla to fiscally survive, Mr. Musk must go. He should embrace it. He simply can't scale international production and distribution, displace three related industries, scale another, and continue to be the visionary bored enough to innovate the Boring Company and other matrix worthy endeavors. There is no other solution, not if any major US manufacturer intends to own the luxury electric market now being cornered by China in speed if not sheer innovation. The sooner Musk uses the brakes, the better.
3
Yeah right - Tesla is still the most valuable Car in the USA and short sellers have been saying it would broke $50 a share and has been as high as $400. Sure goes up and down but GM & Chyrlsler went bankrupt — Ford marginally survived. They make cars most people don’t want so they has discount them to get them off the lot. People line for Tesla’s...2 years in advance and put down cash deposits. Big difference
6
@Underhiseye
So you accurately predicted Musk's demise, although it hasn't actually happened. Got it. Thanks, Nostradamus.
4
I wish I could summon up even an iota of empathy (sympathy?) for Mr. Musk's self-induced burnout but it just isn't happening.
Just reading this article made my head spin- Antarctica? Santiago Chile? Rio? Reno? Note the Rio jaunt was specifically scheduled for -partying.
I don't know why but Musk's arrogant posture of working himself into a lather of disaster sort of reminds me a little of the Tiger Woods debacle in which all common sense goes out the door when the ego is dictating all the orders. Sadly, what with Musks' recent and very messy public relations disasters, I suspect he's suffering from a bit of bipolarity, unchecked, untreated. I hope at some point I do hope he reaches out for some help before it's too late.
10
When individuals over time are systematically sleep deprived, their self-control lessens, and more of their core personality that they are keeping contained is displayed to the world.
By all appearances, that is what is happening here (with likely at least minor drug use thrown into the mix). The result is patterns of consistent erraticism on Musk's part. The question this begets is where is the team of senior managers and lawyers who are supposed to surround a CEO and keep him even keel and measured . . ...?
At least mostly absent, apparently.
This displays the risk of the CEO as brilliant lone savior of the company model (put unintended!).
14
"Apparently unable or unwilling to delegate, the chief executive has embedded with the line workers."
It is worth considering- on the very cutting edge of anything - it may simply not be possible to "delegate" - since no expertise may exist, and no other minds similar enough to actually see the webs of interaction.
36
@Greenpa It's a car with a battery in it, not an alien monolith. There is nothing about a Tesla that only Elon Musk could possibly comprehend.
5
@Greenpa "Only I can fix it"? Please. There is no edge so cutting that a collaborative mindset cannot advance it. The "brilliant scientist" trope makes for great sci fi/time-travel movies, but in reality these are CARS -- feats of human engineering. Unlike, say, novels or works of art, cars are matters of science and technology, the most collaborative areas of all human thinking!
2
Tesla is still a start-up, albeit a fancy and very popular one, and should not have gone public. Mr Musk's micro management of his "baby" seems fair to me. He sets out an example for the company to eventually succeed and along the way some hard lessons will be learned - it's only logical. In the end we must not forget that an entire powerful industry is against Tesla and hence Mr Musk, unfortunately.
34
@mshrf
Tesla, Inc. was founded in 2003, so it's not a startup or a "baby"
6
Who else has the vision of Elon Musk and the courage to make those visions a reality? Most CEOs sit in their offices and think most about how they can make more money for shareholders and increase their own wealth. Musk is doing things no one else would dare try. Land a rocket on a barge in the ocean? Design and produce a great electric automobile? The huge Gigafactory? Boring tunnels for trains like never before?
I was amazed, when driving from New Jersey to Maryland, I turned off at a rest stop, and there were several Tesla charging stations, most of them occupied. Elon Musk doesn't need criticism; he needs encouragement! Those short sellers, yes they make money for themselves, but what do they produce? What good do they do for the world?
112
@Jeff
Agree totally.
4
@Jeff Everyone around tesla is trying to encourage the good behaviours - building electric cars, making them safer, making them cheaper, innovating, improving, delegating, sleeping.
The way to do that is by discouraging the bad behaviour - drugs, tweeting, lying, flying around needlessly.
Elon Musk needs criticism to help him be the best he can be. If he can't respond to criticism by changing, it may even be that Tesla, and by extension the world, is best off without him now.
4
Amazing that there is so much money to be made by shorting Tesla that shorters will pay off Tesla employees to sabotage the company. But it rings totally true. And probably very hard to prove. Now it becomes clear why Musk is so frustrated. Sounds like might be improvable with better security and keystroke tracing around employee access to factory software, etc. But yet another burden that no company needs. And directly due to Tesla being subject to the whims of the stock market and the media cycle. Maybe the news media should give Tesla a bit more leeway when it comes to quarterly targets. Remember that it is widely believed that quarterly earnings reports are detrimental to operation of most companies since they force companies to de-empahsize longterm success in favor of shortterm results. Its a bad system, Wall Street! Makes traders rich at the expense of the health of US companies.
20
The only reason short sellers see such an opportunity is Tesla’s stock is overvalued to any reasonable valuation process in an any reasonable timeframe. Wall Street has given Tesla the benefit of the doubt to Tesla and then some (and some and some). If he does not need to go the market for more capital, what does he care what the stock price is at this point in the firm’s life? It could drop in half and would not affect anything. He needs to focus on the product.
10
@Michael Blazin They don't see it as overvalued, they see it as a gamble that it'll run out of cash and go under. Every time it becomes clear that they're doing better and better, achieving bigger production milestones, etc, the shorts unleash a disinformation campaign to try to bring the company down. They aren't content to make a bet and watch it unfold, they want to play a role in harming the company. That's not legal, it's wrong, and any short engaged in that behavior should be held accountable.
1
Here's hoping the "paint shop saboteur" (and others of his kind) is caught eventually with proof, and leads out whatever short seller or other entity directed this heinous (honestly) crime. They should all be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
31
Seen from afar, Elon Musk currently resembles Icarus more than Phlebas the Phoenician, which is very regrettable because he has achieved so much with Tesla, Solar City, SpaceX and other companies. To judge by this article and other recent reports, a restructuring of Tesla management is overdue and unavoidable. If the Tesla directors are any good, that's what they are working on very hard right now.
4
@Swain Yes indeedy, I understand Pepsico has several good used executives it is ready to turn loose- again. Worked out well for Apple!
3