Elon Musk had a meltdown during Tesla's Q1 earnings call.

Morgan Stanley: "Tesla's Call Was The Most Unusual I Have Experienced In 20 Years"

Elon Musk had a really bad day yesterday. During a conference call to discuss Tesla's first quarter earnings (or the lack thereof) he interrupted analysts, refused to answer their questions, and instead spent 23 minutes answering questions from some random blogger.

Of course, he probably wasn't eager to talk about Tesla's numbers.
They're bad, really bad.
The company earned $2.73 billion in revenue in the quarter, but still managed to lose $785 million overall.

Model 3 production is stuck in some level of purgatory: It's currently at 2270 per week, less than half of Musk's hoped-for 5000 per week. That might actually be a blessing in disguise, because it seems like the more cars Tesla builds, the more money they lose. I've said it before that if they ever really start mass producing the Model 3, it will drive them right into bankruptcy.

Perhaps most tellingly, the company has $10 billion in debt, with $1.2 billion of that maturing in the next year. Tesla's debt level has been steadily rising, with reports suggesting that they aren't paying their suppliers.

Investors certainly didn't like it. The stock is currently down 6% from yesterday. And since the stock is rated in junk territory, they're going to have a hard time raising money when (not if) their cash reserves run low again. Which will almost certainly be before the end of the year.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan


And he's still under SEC investigation for selling a huge amount of shares prior to the announcement that one of their automated vehicles killed someone.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

I wonder if he's pulling a Crazy Eddie.

He's going to rack up a few billion in debt and then take a secret rocket ship to orbit where the creditors can't reach him

a reply to: dashen


I miss Mr. Antar, he made commercials insane.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

That was a odd quarterly call, I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk..

• TESLA INVESTORS SAY ODD EARNINGS CALL ’SHOOK CONFIDENCE’: RBC
• TESLA LIKELY TO FALL TODAY AFTER ‘TRULY BIZARRE’ CALL: JPMORGAN
• TESLA REITERATED SELL AT GOLDMAN ON LIKELY MISSED TARGETS


Tesla stock after call... 281.95 USD −19.20 (6.38%)

I've always wondered if the oil companies were going to let him get away with building electric cars that are capable of running up to and more than 500 miles range. The batteries that his company designed have placed him in the cross-hairs of the big oil. Sure, his cars cost more, but think of the fuel savings. Electricity is much cheaper than gasoline. All one would have to worry about are tires, brakes and possibly wheel bearings.

Musk should have an internal audit of his company and find the oil companies saboteurs...

Is it just me or does the guy look like a terminator?





I'd be careful with this one.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

So...who wouldn't have a meltdown

a reply to: NightFlight


Right, it's Big Oil screwing up his company and not him. What happened to personal responsibility?

Did big bad oil make him sell shares before the announcement that one of his cars killed someone too?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I've wondered if he sold before or after the actual accident happened, or the accident happened and then he sold before the accident hit the news or after the coroner's report?

Could the self driving system computers have been hacked? That there would be a deal breaker.

He also may have sold to help keep his company afloat...

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

I think some groups of people are working against him to devalue the business so they can buy it for pennies on the dollar. He was not ready for the politics involved in an endeaver like changing the world.

I think Tesla's biggest threat is other car companies... BMW and some of the other brands have Model 3 killers coming online. I think Tesla may wind up being acquired by a traditional car company as a sub brand.

Tesla shook up the car industry but the reality is that it is a capital intensive industry and scaling manufacturing is not easy.

The one thing Tesla proved is that there is a market for electric cars if done right.

He should be nervous.
They failed to meet promises yet again.

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

I think some groups of people are working against him to devalue the business so they can buy it for pennies on the dollar. He was not ready for the politics involved in an endeaver like changing the world.

That would make a good movie...

Saboteurs set up situations to get a few drivers killed using auto-pilot. Paying off politicians to stifle Tesla's lack of dealerships. Inflating battery costs.

I can see all kinds of ways to subtly hurt the company indirectly.

a reply to: intrepid

I like him.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

He's coming up against some powerful people. People who probably don't want to see him succeed. Just my intuition.

originally posted by: NightFlight
I've wondered if he sold before or after the actual accident happened, or the accident happened and then he sold before the accident hit the news or after the coroner's report?

It's clear cut, read the SEC report.

Could the self driving system computers have been hacked?

I'm sure, it was most likely XOM that did because: oil.

He also may have sold to help keep his company afloat...

Doesn't matter, if it's true it makes him an inside trading scumbag regardless of why he did it.

a reply to: BotheLumberJack

Who's making him fail to meet production goals?
Who's making them miss sales projections?

People just don't want to over pay for a car.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: BotheLumberJack

Who's making him fail to meet production goals?
Who's making them miss sales projections?

People just don't want to over pay for a car.

If I knew the answer to that, I'd post it.

Cont'd: People over pay for a lot of Government sponsored # half of which we don't know about. This guy put a car into space. So wtf are they playing at by blocking him? You and I both know that if the Gov wanted him to succeed, he would.

a reply to: BotheLumberJack

Like solindra?