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: I had enough funds to take Tesla private
On his second day of testimony in a court case where he is accused of artificially boosting Tesla’s stock price with a tweet, Musk says that he had sufficient financial backing to take Tesla private. Musk says he believed it was “a done deal” that the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would support a possible attempt to take Tesla private at $420 a share, a 20 per cent premium at the time, though he acknowledged there was no contract and that many details had not been worked out.
Musk said the PIF had “many multiples” of what was required to take Tesla private, especially because it was not expected to purchase the entire company, and added that his own shares in SpaceX, his rocket company, would make up for any shortfall.
It’s important for the jury to know that
Musk, said it was “difficult to say” if Tesla shares would rise or fall based on his tweet, because markets can act in “counter-intuitive” ways, but admitted it was more likely it would rise.
I expected that there (would) probably be some increase in the stock price — seems likely. If you say that you’re considering taking a company private or acquiring a company . . . there is going to be some premium . . . In this case, I’m clear about what the premium would be.
Mussk disagreed with the shareholders’ lawyers, who suggested the $420 price was based on a reference to cannabis that his girlfriend at the time found funny, saying he was applying a 20 per cent premium to the stock, then rounding up slightly.
There is some karma around 420, although I’d question (whether it) is good or bad karma, at this point
Musk delivers first Tesla Semi truck to Pepsi
At an event at Tesla’s Nevada plant, Musk delivers the first Tesla Semi to Pepsi. Musk says the battery-powered, long-haul truck will reduce highway emissions, outperform existing diesel models on power and safety and spin-off a fast-charging technology Tesla will use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup. Musk did not announce pricing for the Semi, provide details on variants of the truck it had initially projected or supply a forecast for deliveries to PepsiCo or other customers.
Musk said the Semi has been doing test runs between Tesla’s Sparks, Nevada factory and its plant in Fremont, California. Tesla said it had completed a 500-mile drive on a single charge, with the Semi and cargo weighing in at 81,000 pounds in total.
Tesla said it would use the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont, California. Musk has said Tesla would aim to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024. PepsiCo ordered 100 trucks in 2017.
If you’re a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it…This thing has crazy power relative to a diesel truck. Basically it’s like an elephant moving like a cheetah.
Musk defends $55 billion compensation plan in court
Musk defends his $55 billion pay award in a Delaware court, in a suit brought by Gregory Vallo, a Tesla shareholder. The plaintiff alleges that the compensation package, which called for Musk to reap billions if Tesla hit certain market capitalization and operational milestones, was approved by Tesla board members who had conflicts interest due to personal and professional ties to Musk.
Musk would receive the full benefit of the pay plan, $55.8 billion, only if Tesla hit a market capitalization of $650 billion and unprecedented revenue and earnings within a decade. To date, Tesla, under Musk’s management, has achieved all 12 of the market capitalization milestones and 11 operational milestones, providing Musk over $52.4 billion in stock option gains
Musk says he did not dicate the terms of the package, or attend any meetings at which the plan was discussed by the board, its compensation committee, or a working group that helped develop it.
I was entirely focused on the execution of the company,
Varallo also questioned Musk about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies. Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn’t want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer instead.
The suit also alleges the shareholder vote approving the compensation plan was based on a misleading proxy statement.
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.
Musk announces Quicksilver & Midnight Cherry Red Tesla colors
Musk introduces two new colours for the Model Y, available from Giga Berlin – Quicksilver & Midnight Cherry Red. Tesla:
Quicksilver & Midnight Cherry Red — made at Giga Berlin. Both are made from highly-pigmented metallic paint, designed to change depending on viewing angle & light. Our most advanced paint system yet, allowing up to 13 layers for depth, dimension & a hand-painted look. Available in Europe & the Middle East
Musk:
Only Giga Berlin can make these colors, as paint shop was specially built to apply many fine layers of paint, giving it complexity not otherwise possible
Only Giga Berlin can make these colors, as paint shop was specially built to apply many fine layers of paint, giving it complexity not otherwise possible https://t.co/Htis0LfRzV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2022
Musk: Tesla could be worth ‘more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined’
Pointing to past performance as an indicator, Musk tells analysts during an earnings call, that he sees a path for the auto manufacturer to become the most valuable company in the world.
I see a potential path for Tesla to be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined. I see a way for Tesla to be roughly twice the value of Saudi Aramco. This is the first time I’ve seen that potential.
Apple and Saudi Aramco are valued at about $2.3 trillion and $2.1 trillion. That growth would imply an over $4T market cap for Tesla. Musk has previously made good on bullish promises. For example, he proclaimed in 2015 that the automaker would exceed a $700B valuation. At the time, the company was worth only about $25B.
Tesla Semi deliveries to Pepsi start Dec 1
Musk says the Tesla Semi truck will start production with deliveries to Pepsi on December 1. He says the Semi has a 500-mile range and is super fun to drive. Pepsi ordered 100 of the all-electric Class 8 trucks in December 2017, a month after it was announced.
500 mile range & super fun to drive
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2022
Musk reveals Optimus Robot
Musk unveils the humanoid Telsa Optimus Robot at Tesla AI Day. He shows a walking production prototype, plus one that uses Tesla actuators. Musk says the robot will be produced at scale and will cost less than a family car.
We’ve designed it using the same discipline that we use when designing the car, which is to design it for manufacturing, so it’s possible to make the robot at high volume at low cost, with high reliability. That’s incredibly important. We’ve all seen very impressive humanoid robot demonstrations. But what are they missing? They’re missing a brain. They don’t have the intelligence to navigate the world by themselves. They’re also very expensive and made in low volume, whereas Optimus is an extremely capable robot, but it’s made in very high volume, ultimately millions of units. It’s expected to cost much less than a car, probably less than $20,000.
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2022
Government agencies mock floating Cybertruck
Musk’s claim that Cybertruck will be able to ‘serve briefly as a boat’ is mocked by two government agencies.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources responded with a photo of a submerged car and said:
Our derelict vessel crews are begging you to understand that anything that “serves briefly as a boat” should not be used as a boat.
Our derelict vessel crews are begging you to understand that anything that “serves briefly as a boat” should not be used as a boat https://t.co/lcrunbf1DJ pic.twitter.com/j2eL5tGcJZ
— Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources (@waDNR) September 29, 2022
And, after a Twitter user suggests Cybertruck would put the San Francisco Bay Ferry out of business, they responded:
Announcement: to prepare for the inevitability of the Nintendo 64 floatie truck flotilla rendering us obsolete, we’re adding little wheels to our ferries. Landboat will be able to serve brief as a bus, so it can cross bridges, parking lots and highways that are not too congested
Announcement: to prepare for the inevitability of the Nintendo 64 floatie truck flotilla rendering us obsolete, we're adding little wheels to our ferries. Landboat will be able to serve brief as a bus, so it can cross bridges, parking lots and highways that are not too congested.
— San Francisco Bay Ferry (@SFBayFerry) September 29, 2022
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%.
Musk: Waterproof Cybertruck can cross rivers, lakes
Musk says the Cybertruck will be able to cross rivers, lakes, and seas, because it will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat. The Cybertruck would need to be able to scale the 6.5-mile float from Starbase to South Padre Island for SpaceX-related logistics activities. Musk did not disclose any indication of how the Cybertruck would be propelled, nor did he give any estimates as to what speed he would expect it to travel, although the Cybertruck as a boat would likely travel between 5 and 10 knots.
Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.
Needs be able to get from Starbase to South Padre Island, which requires crossing the channel
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2022
Musk teases Tesla AI Day 2
Musk teases Tesla’s second AI Day, which will showcase the company’s artificial intelligence programs. The event runs from 5 to 11pm PST on September 30, 2022.
There will be lots of technical detail & cool hardware demos.
Expected technology reverals include the Hardware 4 computer and The Tesla Bot. He also responds to a Twitter user that, despite the expectation of a luckwarm response by the media:
AI/robotics engineers who understand what problems need to be solved will like what they see. As well as advanced chip & supercomputer engineers for next-gen training & inference. Note, this event is meant for recruiting AI & robotics engineers, so will be highly technical.
Pretty much. AI/robotics engineers who understand what problems need to be solved will like what they see.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2022
Tesla wants ‘thousands of humanoid robots’ within its factories
A Tesla job listing for a mechatronic technician says the company wants thousands of humanoid robots in its factories:
Tesla is on a path to build humanoid bi-pedal robots at scale to automate repetitive and boring tasks. Most importantly, you will see your work repeatedly shipped to and utilized by thousands of Humanoid Robots within our factories.
The company’s Autopilot Division aims to hire 20 software and firmware engineers, deep learning scientists, actuator technicians, and internships, to work on its Optimus humanoid robot. Musk wants the robot to work beyond car production and do household chores and care work in millions of households.
Hertz CEO: Tesla rental demand ‘very, very solid’
CEO Stephen Scherr of Hertz, which ordered 100,000 Tesla vehicles in October 2021 , says demand for the vehicles is very strong. Hertz is looking to have 25% of its fleet be electric vehicles by the end of 2024, up from 5% today.
Demand has been very, very solid. And remember, we’re seeing demand not only among leisure travelers but also corporate travelers, where in fact, corporations want their employees in an electric vehicle to satisfy some of their carbon footprint objectives. And of course, we’ve been renting to Uber and Lyft as part of their ride-sharing network. Demand across all three has been very strong.
Scherr also said the vehicles are less costly to maintain:
I’d also point out from a financial point of view. For Hertz, the maintenance is appreciably lower on (the) electric vehicles. We’re seeing it 40-50% lower, just given the nature of the car itself.
Hertz CEO on @Tesla rental demand:
“Demand has been very, very solid. We’re seeing demand not just among leisure travelers but also corporate travelers; Corporations want their employees in EVs to satisfy their carbon footprint objectives”
EV maintenance is costing 40-50% less. pic.twitter.com/GhKiIRcX6e
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 28, 2022
Tesla expects ‘high volume’ of deliveries, asks staff to help
In an email to staff, the car company says it is expecting a high volume of deliveries in Q3 and asks all employees, even those who don’t work in the sales and delivery department, to help with delivery tasks, include moving vehicles around, washing and preparing vehicles, delivering vehicles directly to customers, and answering customer questions on delivery day.
We will be delivering a very high volume of vehicles to eagerly waiting customers during the final days of Q3. To help ensure we can delight as many customers as possible, the delivery team is requesting additional support with key delivery-execution tasks.
Fire at Giga Berlin
A fire broke out in an outdoor pile of cardboard and wood at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin. 50 firefighters, including 12 from Giga Berlin’s own fire department, worked to extinguish the fire. Around 800 cubic meters of paper, cardboard, and wood burned. No injuries were reported. Police:
It is being investigated whether shredding work had started the fire.
Ctritics of the factory called for an immediate stop of production:
Our worst fears have come true. We demand a production stop until the causes and circumstances have been clarified, and all safety-relevant measures in the water protection area have been implemented.
Report: Tesla China to hit over 80k deliveries this month
A report from China says Tesla is targeting deliveries of about 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles domestically this month, despite insurance data from previous weeks suggesting that Tesla seemed to be having delivery challenges in the country. The report says that shorter waiting times mean scalpers who had bought the cars in hope of a large profit will now be undercut as Tesla customers wait for a possible October price cut. Estimates in China reportedly suggest that Tesla will reduce its Model 3 prices by RMB 20,000 ($2,700) and the Model Y by RMB 28,000 ($3,900). Report:
There is a tradition of price reduction: Historically, Tesla has been ahead of the market regardless of whether the price has been raised or lowered. There is room for price reduction: Tesla’s 22Q2 single-vehicle profit is 8,000+ US dollars, and its 22Q3 single-vehicle net profit hits 13,000 US dollars, equivalent to 80,000 yuan, which is extremely profitable.
$TSLA Giga Shanghai Q3 expecting 80-90k. And the main reason why wait time is now 1-4 weeks or 1-8 weeks because there are lots of scalper who booked earlier and resell it a the large profits. Now these scalper delayed delivery is quite serious. pic.twitter.com/9C2EhKBFgl
— T ⚡️ (@TeslaSg) September 26, 2022
Tesla board investigates Musk’s glass house purchases
Tesla’s board is investigating Musk for possible misuse of company resources in a project to build himself a mansion near the company’s Texas headquarters. The project involves a glass-walled building near Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, of which some renderings apparently show a residential area with bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen next to a body of water, with the factory in the background. The board’s probe comes after Tesla’s finance and internal audit teams became aware of an order placed by a Musk advisor (also being probed) for millions of dollars worth of specialized glass, and is focusing on whether executives in Musk’s inner circle used the company’s clout to obtain the glass for a personal project of Musk’s while a global supply chain crisis made the glass more difficult to obtain normally.
Musk not taking Tesla private after all
In talking to our public investors, most were supportive of optimizing for long-term value creation over quarterly earnings. This was also a factor in remaining public.
In talking to our public investors, most were supportive of optimizing for long-term value creation over quarterly earnings. This was also a factor in remaining public.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2018