Tesla delivers record number of cars after price cuts
Tesla says it delivered a record number of vehicles for the three months from April to June, delivering 466,140 vehicles, 80% higher than last year. The company says it lowered prices in markets including the US, UK and China to compete with rival manufacturers. The company is due to report its financial results for the second quarter on 19 July. Musk,
We’re not ‘starting a price war’, we’re just lowering prices to enable affordability at scale.
Musk considers Cuban’s low-cost pharmacy for Tesla, SpaceX employees
After a Twitter user asks Cuban who costplusdrugs.com does not offer Invermectin, which the user says “costs $0.02 per pill in Africa, 100x mark-up in America”, Musk responds:
Good question
A few hours later, Cuban responds to Musk:
I’m sorry I didn’t see you enter the discussion @elonmusk. The price we were able to get was much higher than other available sources. We are trying to get a better price. We do sell HCQ. Our mission is to be the low cost provider of every med we are allowed to sell. You should have your employees use us. It will save them and @twitter a fuck ton of money. Costplusdrugs.com
Ok, I will ask Tesla & SpaceX to inquire further
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2023
Musk replies that he will ask Tesla & SpaceX to inquire into Cuban’s offer. In 2022, Tesla employed more than 127,000 people, while SpaceX has about 10,000 employees
Musk to talk Tesla Gigafactory with Macron again
For the second time in just over a month, Musk will meet with Macron to discuss building a Tesla Gigafactory in France. France has been courting Tesla to build factories in the country, but is competing with other EU countries like Spain, which is also in talks with Tesla. Macron:
I’m going (into that meeting) with an agenda. We’re going to talk about artificial intelligence, in which he is involved, social media, regulation framework… And then I’ll also talk to him about cars, batteries, to promote French and European attractiveness.
Asked specifically whether he was hoping to secure a Tesla Gigafactory, Macron says: “It’s up to the company to look at these different issues in Europe. So we’ll be selling France” as an investment destination. In addition to saying that France has invested in an “entire sector of electric batteries” and will try to convince Musk “that France is the best possible place in Europe to establish the next Tesla factory,” French minister for digital affairs Jean-Noel Barrot says:
It will be great to have a Tesla factory in France. There has been a lot of effort and energy to make sure this is possible and this can happen.
Musk and Macron will also discuss tech regulation.
Tesla in talks to build factory in Spain
In a bid to build a factory there, Tesla is negotiating with the regional government of Valencia in Spain. A spokesperson for Valencia’s government says it had held meetings and conversations with a company about a “large automobile investment,” but did not specify which company it was, citing the confidentiality of the negotiations. Tesla’s total investment in this enterprise could surpass 4.5 billion euros ($4.83 billion).
Tesla releases promo video on Twitter
Tesla releases a two-minute Twitter video on its Tesla Asia account (which has only 172,000 followers, compared to its main account’s 21 million) called “Drive to believe.” The ad highlights Tesla’s Autopilot feature, infotainment system, the Tesla app, as well as featuring a Model 3 owner and mother of two children saying she was initially drawn to the vehicle because of its technology, but has grown to appreciate its safety measures as well.
I would say it’s one of the greatest gifts, that my kids can have, in terms of their future.
Drive to believe——why she chose Tesla? ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LXtGl15QUy
— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) May 19, 2023
Tesla reopens talks with Indian government
Senior Tesla executives visit India, meeting officials from Modi’s office and other ministries to discuss local sourcing of parts and more. The executives propose setting up a factory in India to build electric cars for domestic sale and export, but no location or investment has been specified. Though India previously declined Tesla’s request to lower the import tax on cars (causing earlier talks to end in gridlock), the matter is not being discussed during this visit.
Tesla to ‘cooperate’ with Samsung in IT development
Musk meets for the first time with Jay Y. Lee, Executive Chairman of Samsung Electronics, during Lee’s visit to the United States, to discuss ways Tesla and Samsung can work together in future high-tech industries, such as semiconductors for autonomous vehicles.
Musk breaks ground at Tesla lithium refinery
Joined by Governor Abbott (R), Musk breaks ground at the site of the Tesla’s $375 million lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, after arriving in a Cybertruck with shovels strapped to the sides. Tesla says the facility will help it secure a domestic supply of lithium hydroxide, a key ingredient used to make its batteries. Musk says the availability of battery-grade lithium is a “fundamental chokepoint” for the electric vehicle industry and others. Tesla aims to produce enough battery-grade lithium at the refinery to manufacture one million vehicles per year, and to produce more lithium than the rest of North America’s refining capacity combined there.
Tesla promises it will use an “innovative” process, designed to consume less hazardous reagents, such as hydrochloric acid, and create “beneficial use opportunities” from byproducts, which they expect to be mostly sand and limestone. However, the company did not disclose the specific chemistry it would rely upon for processing. Musk:
There’s no toxic emissions or anything — you could live right in the middle of the refinery and not suffer any ill effects.
Abbott praises Musk as the greatest entrepreneur on Earth, saying:
Texas wants to be able to be self-reliant, not dependent upon any foreign hostile nation for what we need.
Increasing lithium refining capacity is critical to a sustainable energy economy—today, we're breaking ground on our in-house lithium refinery outside of Corpus Christi, TX.
This facility will also prioritize the elimination of a challenging refinery byproduct (sodium sulfate).… pic.twitter.com/mBnDBLNrW7
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 8, 2023
Tesla stock drops nearly 10% over continued price cuts
Tesla stock (TSLA) drops nearly 10%, nearly $50 billion in market capitalisation, after Musk says the electric vehicle manufacturer will keep cutting prices in a bid to drive up demand in a weak economy. Focusing on sales growth rather than immediate profit, Musk said:
We’ve taken a view that pushing for higher volumes and a larger fleet is the right choice here versus a lower volume and a higher margin.
With this drop, Tesla’s market capitalization ending below Meta Platforms’ for the first time since 2021.
Soros sells all Tesla holdings
Soros Fund Management, the family office of George Soros, sells its entire stake in Tesla. This includes stock as well as $35 million of convertible bonds. Soros bought the bonds in 2018 and the stock in 2022. When he purchased the latter, Tesla shares averaged $274, but at the time of sale they average just $173.
ARK sells $27m Tesla stock, buys Coinbase
ARK Investment Management’s Cathy Wood sells off $26.84 million of Tesla (TSLA) stock, at a closing price of $192.22, buying shares of Coinbase (COIN) instead. For a total of 139,642 TSLA shares, Wood’s firm sold 119,630 from its ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and 20,012 from the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).
ARK buys more Tesla stock
ARK buys 69,356 Tesla shares, adding to the 1.3 million shares the firm purchased in December and January. This latest purchase adds about $12.6 million to ARK’s holdings in the electric vehicle company, based on the stock’s (TSLA) current market value.
Tesla lost $140m on Bitcoin in 2022
According to SEC filings, Tesla lost $140m on its Bitcoin investments in 2022, losing $204m overall, although it gained back $64m through trading. The company holds $184m in Bitcoin, having offloaded most of its initial £1.5 billion purchase a few weeks after it was purchased in early 2021.
Musk denies Twitter use hurts Tesla, expects share price recovery
On an Earnings Call with investors [transcript], Musk rejects that his political influencing on Twitter is hurting Tesla’s brand.
Since Elon started political influencing, polls from Morning Consult & YouGov show Tesla brand favorability declining in 2022 and division along partisan lines. Such brand damage can impact demand. Does Tesla track favorability and how will any brand damage be mitigated?
Musk replies by citing his own popularity on Twitter:
Well, let me check my Twitter account (pause as he appears to actually pull out his phone). So I got 127 million followers and it continues to grow rapidly. That suggests that I’m reasonably popular. Now I might not be popular with some people, but for the vast majority of people, my follower count speaks for itself. I have the most interacted social account maybe in the world – certainly on Twitter.
And then talking about his impact on the brand:
I think Twitter is actually an incredibly powerful tool for driving demand for Tesla…I would really encourage companies out there of all kinds, automotive or otherwise, to make more use of Twitter and to use their Twitter accounts in ways that are interesting and informative, entertaining, and it will help them drive sales just as it has with Tesla.
Musk says he expects Tesla’s share price to recover over the long-term, though warned that he anticipated a “pretty difficult recession” in 2023 which could lead to setbacks.
We think demand will be good despite, probably, a contraction in the automotive market as a whole…There’s going to be bumps along the way and we’ll probably have a pretty difficult recession this year, probably. I hope not, but probably.
Musk sells $3.95 billion of Tesla stock
Regulatory filings show Musk sold nearly $4 billion worth of Tesla shares, bringing his total sold since April to $19 billion. He sold $7 billion in August. These three most recent blocks of Tesla stock sales represent only 4% of the shares that Musk owns outright through a trust, and less than 3% of his holdings if options that he has to buy additional shares are included.
Musk’s filings did not disclose the reason for those earlier stock sales. But after someone on Twitter asked him if he was done selling Tesla shares, he responded “Yes” and then pointed to the possibility of being forced to buy Twitter as the reason for those sales. Shares of Tesla are down almost 50% this year.
GM sales grow 74% YOY in Sept, Tesla sales grow 63%, Honda declines
In its September estimates, TrueCar says that General Motors has grown its sales most in the past year, increasing 74.2%.. GM also had the largest number of sales, at 200,000 units. Tesla is in second place with sales growth of 63% compared to the same time last year. Honda is the fastest shrinking automaker in US sales, down -15.3%.
