Uh-oh Tesla

[Yaj Yak]

oh
[MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION]

sup

 

[Yaj Yak]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-shares-sink-as-musk-jokes-about-bankruptcy-1522682691


may have something to do with it

 

[Yaj Yak]

Tesla Inc. TSLA -5.40% shares sank more than 7% Monday, suggesting investors were in no laughing mood over Chief Executive Elon Musk’s bankruptcy jokes as the electric-vehicle maker grapples with the aftermath of a fatal crash and prepares this week to release production results.

The drop to $248 a share in early trading extended a selloff that has lopped off 36% from the stock since its peak in September.

Mr. Musk delivered his April Fools’ tweet (“Tesla Goes Bankrupt”), in which he joked Tesla failed to raise enough cash in a last-ditch Easter Egg sale, at a time when his company’s cash position is under real scrutiny. Last week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s credit rating and cautioned about the company’s outlook, citing concerns about cash levels.

Cash worries are nothing new for Tesla, but the stakes have grown as it has taken on more than $10 billion in debt. Mr. Musk avoided bankruptcy in 2008, which he often talks about publicly.

Tesla’s report on first-quarter production results this week will provide insight into whether the car maker is on track to reach its target of making 5,000 Model 3 sedans a week by the end of June, a goal it already postponed twice.

The Model 3 sedan, which began assembly in July, was supposed to help the company reach 500,000 units overall this year, about five times what it sold last year. Tesla’s target for the end of March was 2,500 Model 3s, a number the company likely missed, Philippe Houchois, an analyst for Jefferies, wrote in a research note Monday.

Mr. Musk’s April Fools’ Day tweet followed several tough days for Tesla. Since the market closed Thursday in New York, it announced what is believed to be its largest recall ever over a possibly defective bolt in the Model S. It also was dealt a rebuke from the National Transportation Safety Board after it publicly released information about a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system.

At about 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, Mr. Musk laid the groundwork for his mischief with a tweet saying important news was coming.

“Despite intense efforts to raise money, including a last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt, you can’t believe it,” Mr. Musk posted at around 6 p.m. Mr. Musk followed up with additional postings, including one of him holding a sign that reads “Bankwupt!”

Tesla spokesmen didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Tesla CEO is a prolific user of Twitter . He often engages his followers, takes questions about the business and, at times, lobbies President Donald Trump on political issues.

Mr. Musk wasn’t the only auto executive in an April Fools mood. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus teamed up with 23andMe Inc. for a video about using DNA to customize cars. And Porsche AG said it would make a 700-horse-power electric tractor that “will be the fastest accelerating agricultural vehicle in the world.”


Mr. Musk’s humor, though, stood apart. “I’ve never heard of a CEO” joking about bankruptcy, David Whiston, an analyst for Morningstar Research Services LLC, said in an email.

Tesla finished the fourth quarter with $3.4 billion in cash and in 2017 had a negative free cash flow of about $1 billion on average, driven largely by spending to bring out the new Model 3. Analysts expect it will need to raise more money later this year.

.

 

[Chet Donnelly]

Tesla's CFO had to shit his pants when he heard the CEO publicly even say the word "bankruptcy"

Investor relations 101

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Yeah that wasnt the smartest move. Kind of a lame ass april fools joke too

 

[Mike K]

I don't think Elon Musk cares even a little bit. I'm not saying it's the smartest move to make but if you saw his tweets and the picture of him holding the "bankwupcy" sign and didn't know it was a joke, I'm not sure you should be investing in the first place.

Tesla's got a perfect storm of shit right now. They have the story from that yutz that manages the world's smallest fund that says they're going to run out of money, they're not ramping up production of the 3 as fast as they said they would even after they revised that ramp rate to a lower number, they've got this latest autopilot crash, they've got worries that all the Model 3 deposits are not converting to paid orders and then overall market pressure on top of all of that which with the tarrif talks and trade issues, are significant.

But I think you need to view Musk as the type of person who has supreme confidence in his own vision and despite often being overly optimistic on his timelines, someone that has eventually accomplished a number of feats that everyone that "knew" insisted he never would.

To be honest, his cracking jokes about bankruptcy despite all of this just gives me more faith in the company because he's not rattled by it. Not only that but he was the first to call Tesla's stock price ridiculously high when it was at levels not much higher than it is now. This is what Musk said about Tesla's stock price just this last summer:

Tesla is absurdly overvalued if based on the past, but that's irrelevant. A stock price represents risk-adjusted future cash flows.

And he's right. So the question is how much does the market think Tesla is going to grow.

 

[jason05gt]

Tesla's last few weeks have been really bad.

[MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION]

I had a few questions on the recent crash, particularly about how autopilot works.

Does the system have a "dead man" failsafe when the driver doesn't respond to cues to put hands back on the wheel? In the case of recent X crash, Tesla is saying that the system alerted the driver but he didn't respond. You'd think that they could build in a feature which slows or stops the car on the side of the road.

Lastly, most interesting to me is why didn't the collision warning and automatic emergency brakes not kick in here?

 

[VenomousDSG]

Tesla's CFO had to shit his pants when he heard the CEO publicly even say the word "bankruptcy"

Investor relations 101

This

I don't think Elon Musk cares even a little bit. I'm not saying it's the smartest move to make but if you saw his tweets and the picture of him holding the "bankwupcy" sign and didn't know it was a joke, I'm not sure you should be investing in the first place.

Tesla's got a perfect storm of shit right now. They have the story from that yutz that manages the world's smallest fund that says they're going to run out of money, they're not ramping up production of the 3 as fast as they said they would even after they revised that ramp rate to a lower number, they've got this latest autopilot crash, they've got worries that all the Model 3 deposits are not converting to paid orders and then overall market pressure on top of all of that which with the tarrif talks and trade issues, are significant.

But I think you need to view Musk as the type of person who has supreme confidence in his own vision and despite often being overly optimistic on his timelines, someone that has eventually accomplished a number of feats that everyone that "knew" insisted he never would.

To be honest, his cracking jokes about bankruptcy despite all of this just gives me more faith in the company because he's not rattled by it. Not only that but he was the first to call Tesla's stock price ridiculously high when it was at levels not much higher than it is now. This is what Musk said about Tesla's stock price just this last summer:



And he's right. So the question is how much does the market think Tesla is going to grow.

Doesn't care..... I'm sure his stockholders would love that attitude......

 

[GLADIATOR]

 

[VenomousDSG]

 

[cacicgtp7]

I don't think Elon Musk cares even a little bit. I'm not saying it's the smartest move to make but if you saw his tweets and the picture of him holding the "bankwupcy" sign and didn't know it was a joke, I'm not sure you should be investing in the first place.

Tesla's got a perfect storm of shit right now. They have the story from that yutz that manages the world's smallest fund that says they're going to run out of money, they're not ramping up production of the 3 as fast as they said they would even after they revised that ramp rate to a lower number, they've got this latest autopilot crash, they've got worries that all the Model 3 deposits are not converting to paid orders and then overall market pressure on top of all of that which with the tarrif talks and trade issues, are significant.

But I think you need to view Musk as the type of person who has supreme confidence in his own vision and despite often being overly optimistic on his timelines, someone that has eventually accomplished a number of feats that everyone that "knew" insisted he never would.

To be honest, his cracking jokes about bankruptcy despite all of this just gives me more faith in the company because he's not rattled by it. Not only that but he was the first to call Tesla's stock price ridiculously high when it was at levels not much higher than it is now. This is what Musk said about Tesla's stock price just this last summer:





And he's right. So the question is how much does the market think Tesla is going to grow.

It seems to me like the stock valuation prices is going to make or break on the success of the Model 3. If the sales are as strong as they are forecasting and the production works out like they are hoping, then the stock price makes more sense. If the Model 3 for whatever reason flops, then it’s going to continue down into the low 200s. At least that’s my 20 mins of research tells me haha.

 

[FirstWorldProblems]

Tesla is finally being held accountable by the financial markets. They've been unable to meet production deadline for the Model 3, which in my opinion is what's dragging the stock down.

In other news,
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/t...l-collapse-says-hedge-fund-manager-2018-03-27

How on earth did this guy get his name in an article....most financial advisors that have been in the business more than 10 months are managing more funds than this "hedge fund manager"

What a joke

 

[dun4791]

Comparing ford to Tesla lol. One has future vision, the other a no nothing, no ideas, no clue, no" fitness plan" furniture salesman...... there's a reason why the stock prices are like they are.

 

[VenomousDSG]

Comparing ford to Tesla lol. One has future vision, the other a no nothing, no ideas, no clue, no" fitness plan" furniture salesman...... there's a reason why the stock prices are like they are.

Ford, actually profitable, doesn't use taxpayer funds to operate, and makes more vehicles in individual models per year than Tesla has made, ALL VEHICLES, in it's entire existence....

It absolutely is silly to compare the two, you're right.

The reason Tesla's stock price is higher is because of speculation, nothing more. Want to make an actual stock comparison, look at stock volume, Ford could buy Tesla 100 times over. Tesla is a kindergartner in the automotive industry.

 

[Gone_2022]

Ford has been around for over a century. It also nearly went into bankruptcy in the beginning, as many new companies do.

I’ll put my “kindergarten” Tesla up against any car ford currently makes. If they created this car after only being around since the 2000s I would be scared what 100+ years of Tesla would bring

 

[VenomousDSG]

Tesla won't be around in 5 years the way they are headed, let alone 100+ years. If anything, and i mean ANYTHING goes wrong with the model 3, which has already had its release pushed back multiple times, that company is done right then and there.

Like Mike said, not that Musk cares though, a lot of it isn't even his money to begin with, and he owns multiple other businesses to offset his losses. The guy is like a kid with billions of dollars, i'd hate to be a shareholder in Tesla, very volatile, and his actions aren't very re-assuring.

This Fad is going to fade into the mist soon enough anyway, like the IPhone. They have had a much longer lifespan than most would predict, considering their products arn't financially efficient compared to the competition.

 

[Gone_2022]

I do hope they get the issues straightened out. The cars really are fantastic. All of this stuff has been said before, with the roadster, the S then the X, and now the 3. Each time a new car comes out the company is “doomed”

Pretty sure some even said that here on the forum 5 years ago. Yet here we are.

 

[Gone_2022]

I even commented to my family over Easter, I rode in a new full size caddy the other day. 2017 I believe. Whatever their full size car is now. I think the XTS?

Either way it honestly felt like a hunk of garbage compared to my new S.

The backup camera was so laughable the early 2000s called and asked for their camera quality back. The stereo was a joke. And the dash area where the climate controls were was not responsive. You had to mash it to change temps

 

[Grabber]

Model S base price - 74,000
XTS base price -46,000

Answers that question.

Seems Tesla’s are being compared to everything. Off road vehicles, road race cars, drag cars, luxury cars, multi-million dollar cars, etc.

I respect the cars but there comes a point when Tesla > All that is man gets old.

 

[VenomousDSG]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tesla-model-3-production-reportedly-210000026.html

Getting a kick out of the comment section of that article too, faith in people's ability to accept reality has been restored just a little bit.

 

[Gone_2022]

Model S base price - 74,000
XTS base price -46,000

Answers that question.

Seems Tesla’s are being compared to everything. Off road vehicles, road race cars, drag cars, luxury cars, multi-million dollar cars, etc.

I respect the cars but there comes a point when Tesla > All that is man gets old.

While I agree my car was not the same price. This was not a base XTS. I priced it online based on what I saw in the car. Since it had the heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats, upgraded bose stereo etc. it appears this was the premium luxury version? Or platinum whatever?

Either way price as tested was about 58-60k give or take.

Either way it was garbage.

 

[Gone_2022]

I’m finishing my review on my car today. It’s not perfect either and I will try to be as unbiased as possible.

 

[Grabber]

While I agree my car was not the same price. This was not a base XTS. I priced it online based on what I saw in the car. Since it had the heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats, upgraded bose stereo etc. it appears this was the premium luxury version? Or platinum whatever?

Either way price as tested was about 58-60k give or take.

Either way it was garbage.

Base model Cadillac's have heated seats/steering wheel.

The XTS is the mid-level Caddy, CTS-V and CT6 are the higher end luxury vehicles.

I'd love to see an all around comparison on the CTS-V vs. the base model S, and 0-60 cannot be the only argument as to why Tesla is oh so much better.

I'm personally not a fan of any of the Caddy's, but, I do love the CTS-V coupe/sedan and I think on any given day, those cars will shit all over Tesla's outside of a fast 0-60 time. Just an opinion, not a fact.

 

[Chet Donnelly]

I guess I didn't grasp the vastness of Tesla's production problems. Just now surpassing 2,000 vehicles produced per week.

How ironic that people are arguing Tesla vs. Ford in here, that while Tesla has produced some of the most insanely marvelous engineered products over the last few years....it is Henry Ford's assembly line process that was pioneered 120 years ago that keeps Tesla from success today...

 

[jason05gt]

I guess I didn't grasp the vastness of Tesla's production problems. Just now surpassing 2,000 vehicles produced per week.

How ironic that people are arguing Tesla vs. Ford in here, that while Tesla has produced some of the most insanely marvelous engineered products over the last few years....it is Henry Ford's assembly line process that was pioneered 120 years ago that keeps Tesla from success today...

Tesla is finding that the automotive mass production line isn't simple. It's easy to churn out a lot of crap fast, but it's not easy to churn out a sophisticated product reliably. I still don't understand why Tesla doesn't just outsource manufacturing to an established player like Magna International. Musk's ego?